With trash bags in hand, National Honor Society members spent their Saturday giving Bellaire High School a deep clean on May 17.

NHS hosted its May Beautify Bellaire cleanup, marking the first official volunteering event for newly inducted members. Beautify Bellaire is one of the society’s annual service projects aimed at promoting campus pride and supporting the janitorial staff.

NHS students gathered at 8 a.m. to clean the school by sweeping the hallways, wiping down railings and collecting trash. Junior and new member Vivienne Chen noticed how dirty the school can get and wanted to do something about it.

“I’m really grateful that I get this opportunity to help out my community,” Chen said. “I feel bad for the janitors because I see how much some students don’t care, so I want to help them out.”

NHS adviser and AP World History and World Geography teacher Jennifer Kuhleman said the event was designed to help with growing needs on campus due to the reduced custodial staff. Over the past three years, the janitorial team has been cut from 21 to just eight members, including the head custodian.

“When your workforce gets cut by two-thirds, everyone’s stressed and rushing,” Kuhleman said. “On top of that, our custodians often bring their own brooms and masks because they don’t get enough supplies.”

Inspired by a fall cleanup hosted by the OnRamps chemistry teacher Mr. Morales and supported by a parent organization grant, NHS leaders applied for funding to buy cleaning tools. NHS purchased wide brooms, dust pens, toilet cleaning supplies and two vacuum cleaners to help with the event and for the janitors to use in the future.

“When we got the $1,000 grant, we wanted to make the biggest impact we could,” Kuhleman said. “But the project, again, has been so rewarding,”

Sophomore and newly inducted member Isabel Munro said it was her first time volunteering with NHS.

“Seeing so many students show up early on a weekend made me feel like I was part of something meaningful,” Munro said. “I already feel more connected to the group and the school.”

Although there will be no more NHS events until the next school year, the chapter can be contacted at [email protected].