This school year, the RMA Parent Organization (PO) has come up with many outstanding ideas on how to show appreciation for each and every faculty member during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the many outstanding ideas was the “Sparkle Cart.” The Sparkle Cart is a cart that is beautifully decorated and inspired by artist/sculptor and PO President, Erica Ann Bilicki (also known as Mrs. Sparkle Cart). By treating the cart as if it were one of her sculptures and decorating it with glitter, duct tape, and stickers to make it colorful and fun, Erica and her volunteers use the cart to spread positivity and make staff members sparkle and smile.

Every other Thursday at 10 AM, the Sparkle Cart comes around to the RMA staff with a wide variety of items. So far, the Sparkle Cart has contained many different donated items such as lip balm, doughnuts, waffles, frappuccinos, candy bars, string cheese, plants, and hand cream. Later in the year, there are plans for the cart to carry boxed lunches for our staff members.

Many do not know, however, that the items on the Sparkle Cart are not just donated from parents and students at RMA, but are also provided by the connections Erica has made from her Tik Tok account with the username @mrs.sparkle_ericaann. In fact, the RMA Sparkle Cart has become famous and picked up donors from outside the Rocky Mount community, with one of these donors being the Carolina Panthers. Also through Tik Tok, the Raleigh Cancer Center has contacted Mrs. Sparkle Cart to possibly have RMA students deliver Christmas gifts to patients during the Christmas season. Since the Sparkle Cart Tik Tok has become a hit, RMA and Mrs. Sparkle Cart are trying to spread positivity and make others sparkle outside of RMA with the new movement known as Operation Sparkle.