'This is what our kids deserve': An army of volunteers show up to clean Hillsborough elementary school

Staff and students of Shaw Elementary clean up debris after Hurricane Milton

FOX 13's photojournalist Barry Wong documents Shaw Elementary staff and students cleaning up debris left behind after Hurricane Milton.

TAMPA, Fla. - Hillsborough County Schools are trying to get their schools ready to reopen their doors to students after Hurricane Milton forced their closures last week and early this week.

Shaw Elementary School Principal Christina Copeland expected a handful of staff members to attend a voluntary school clean-up event on Monday morning. Instead, a small army showed up to help.

"It started with a group of about five to six staff members that were willing to come, and then all of a sudden, I have some friends, and they have friends," Shaw said.

Around 50 volunteers cleaned the school, mainly picking up storm debris throughout campus. The school also had some minimal roof damage and water intrusion. Volunteers trimmed a large, damaged tree in front of the campus.

Charity Merrell, a fifth-grade teacher at Shaw Elementary School, said the cleanup's turnout was an encouraging sign for the community.

"There's a lot of people that I don't know, which is really encouraging," Merrell said. "We want to get our students back in as fast as possible. I know they've gone through a lot, so we're trying to get them back in."

Among the unfamiliar faces are volunteer groups from Florida Blue and Idlewild Baptist Church. With so many volunteers showing up, the school was ready to go in a little over an hour.

Shaw says normalcy will return slowly, but opening the school is a first step.

"Seeing a lot of people just warms my heart because this is what our kids deserve," Merrell said.