Group Photo above (left to right): Tim Brooks, Justin Bowers, Lark Irwin; Volunteer-Based Community Educator for AWP, Cassie Galster, Michelina Jones, Eric Nitschke, Susan Supernavage and Brent Alwood.
On May 15th, 8 folks from CVI Doylestown volunteered their time to spruce up a local charity’s conference room.
Founded in 1976, A Woman’s Place provides support and education to victims of domestic violence and their families in Bucks County, PA. The organization had wanted to give their conference room a facelift for some time. They were extremely grateful when CVI reached out and offered to help.
CVI Doylestown came ready to work first thing in the morning, with paint and supplies in hand. The plan was to tackle the walls (a sandy beige color and a purple accent wall) along with the ceiling, two doors, three windows and of course, lots of trim! Our work was certainly cut out for us.
As part of the project, CVI volunteers collected money to cover the costs of the paint and all the supplies for needed the project. While we thought we had thought of everything, there is always something that pops up in projects like these. While prepping the room, Eric Nitschke noticed some nicks and holes on a corner wall. Instead of just painting over them, Eric ran to the hardware store to buy spackle (and drinks and cookies!) to fill the holes before we paint. Susan Supernavage and Tim Brooks ran to Susan’s house to grab a 6 foot ladder after we realized our small step ladders were just not tall enough to manage the high edges and trim. Jim Jordan took on the demanding task of painting the ceiling which required a second coat of paint (and another trip to Home Depot.) Brent and Michelina (our Creative Directors) were the team’s go-tos for quality control, as many of us frequently asked for their artist’s opinion when working on the details for the room. The day went by fast with chilled out tunes of Bob Marley courtesy of Justin Bowers and a quick pizza break outside.
After 2 coats of paint on the walls, ceiling, windows, doors and trim, the conference room never looked better! While cleaning up the room, the team noticed some paint splatters on the carpet and fireplace and an outlet switch plate that we had removed was suddenly missing. Brent and Justin ran to the hardware store to buy paint thinner and a new switch plate to make sure the room was perfect. No detail was overlooked!
“Painting a conference room might seem like a simple or small gesture, but this is the where the staff and volunteers of AWP are meeting with their board of directors and potential donors, so a first impression can really help! The space now truly reflects the amazing work AWP continues to provide to our community.” ~Cassie Galster
Thanks to CVI’s matching program, we were able to fulfill the necessary funds to complete the project. Special thanks to Sonia Sommers, Mary Pacell, Elise Moores and Evan O’Donnell who were not able to attend the service day but graciously donated to our supply fund! [ By Cassie Galster]
