Difference makers: ‘Nobody quite like Cindy’: Cindy Akins doesn’t want you to read this story

Cindy Akins insists she doesn’t deserve to be featured in this newspaper as a “difference maker.”

Those who see her volunteering almost everyday at Ness Elementary School strongly disagree.

Used to shying away from the spotlight and humbly avoiding any whisper of praise, Akins began volunteering at Ness in the West Valley School District when her daughter enrolled in kindergarten.

Fifteen years later, Akins’ daughters have come and gone and one came back again to Ness, but Akins remains a dedicated and unassuming volunteer. With her own workroom and mailbox and as the only one who knows how to operate the laminator, staff said she’s essentially another employee at the school. She leads art lessons, beautifies the building with her crafts and keeps up myriad whimsical traditions for students without receiving a dime.

“Most parents aren’t able to be here everyday,” said Ashley Bell, fifth grade teacher at Ness. “Over the years I’ve had different parent volunteers who can help with kids on work and things like that, but nobody quite like Cindy.”

Akins leads kids in a weekly art lesson alongside classroom teachers and hosts a recurring afterschool program – a grant funded afterschool club called a “cluster” for a handful of pupils with an art emphasis. Students said she’s warm, kind and knowledgeable about art.

“She’s really nice and fun,” said Amirah Role, a fifth-grader in Akins’ cluster. “I like how she walks us through stuff and if we need help or something she’ll come back and walk us through it.”

“Since I now know more than I used to, I’d say she’s pretty good,” said fifth-grader Tristan Todd.

A number of Ness traditions can be traced to Akins, who brought to the school practices that enlivened her childhood. Unbeknown to Ness pupils, she sneaks into classrooms before Saint Patrick’s Day, knocking over tables and spreading glitter around to simulate a leprechaun attack. She organizes trunk-or-treating on Halloween in the Ness parking lot. She thought up an annual winter holiday door decorating contest. Every December, Ness is dripping in arts and crafts; teachers and students decorate their doors in construction paper, glitter and lights.

While teachers are focused on the academic aspects of school, Akins can ensure their days are as whimsical as they are educational.

“Usually, I’m like ‘Here’s my idea’ and it’s pretty black and white and she comes and sprinkles glitter on top of it,” Bell said.

“And then she gets glitter on my floor.”

Akins observes “Tutu Tuesday,” a holiday of her own creation. Her daughter estimates she owns 15 of the tulle skirts, and could probably supply one to every staff member at Ness. On a Monday earlier this month, she got a jump on the holiday, adorned in a festive red tutu with a matching red and white polka dot bow that complimented her socks with little red hearts. Though she’s soft spoken, you could hear her walking down the hallway with bells tied to the shoelaces of her Converse.

Akins is a familiar face walking through hallways or stopping in classrooms. Kids tap on her workroom window while waiting to board their school bus home. Students wave to her wherever she goes, excited at each Cindy celebrity sighting.

“When I can volunteer at the school, it’s for the love of these kids, this school and to help loosen the load on the teachers,” Akins wrote. “I do what I can, when I can, to help others at the school when needed. West Valley School District and the Ness family will always have a place in my heart.”

Her care and commitment to the school without any reward – other than the reverence of schoolchildren – models to kids that their presence in her life is as valuable as a paycheck.

“She always believes in them so they believe in themselves,” said Althea Erbeznik, who’s known Akins since Akins’ now 22-year-old daughter, Autumn, was in kindergarten. Akins presided over the parent-teacher organization at the time.

“She cares enough to be there everyday, and that means a lot to kids, too, that a stranger, basically a stranger to them, cares enough to come in and do things for them,” Erbeznik said.

Not only is she a trusted confidant for the 250-some students enrolled at Ness, teachers count on her to take some of the tasks that weigh on their shoulders. If a teacher has an idea for a special project or event, she’s the execution.

“She just knows where I’m not going to have time for these things, so she just fills it in and it just works really naturally,” Bell said.

“I feel like I’m dropping breadcrumbs, and she’s picking them up; that’s the nice thing about Cindy.”

Bell recalled Akins’ ingenuity and creativity from years ago. She asked Akins for a container to store scraps of paper she had left over from an art project. Rather than a couple plastic bags or pre-existing containers, Akins got to crafting. In no time at all, she presented Bell with a set of paper nesting containers that perfectly fit inside each other. Nine years later, Bell is still baffled by the boxes.

“She made these!” Bell exclaimed. “I literally turned around and turned (back) around, and she had nesting boxes. Who would have thought of that?”

Akins’ passion for volunteerism rubbed off on her daughter Autumn Akins, who now works through Americorps as a full time school aide at Ness. Prior to volunteering, her mom was a stay-at-home parent for her and her sister. Akins’ world still revolves around them: Autumn recalls fond memories of birthday parties with her mom’s signature over-the-top flair . All through her elementary education, Autumn knew her mom was just a few classrooms over.

“It shows how committed she is,” Autumn said. “She’s committed to my sister and I, and she’s also committed to the school and just making people feel good and feel happy.”

The two exchange a “love you” at each departure.

Ness staff said they’re grateful for the pair of Akinses at their school.

“They just take care of others, it’s that give-of-themselves without ever wanting anything in return,” Erbeznik said. “Like you try to show your appreciation and they’re like ‘I don’t want anything.’ It’s purely just unselfishness.”