Last summer’s heavy rains caused flood damage to the Fr. Zawacki Center. But thanks to parishioner Ralph Pruente and many other volunteers, this unfortunate setback turned into an opportunity for much-needed improvement.
“The hall hadn’t been touched for 20 years,” Ralph says, noting that the space was outdated and needed much TLC. “When we found out that the insurance company would pay for most of the necessary repairs, I thought it would be a great opportunity to spend just a little more to really spruce the place up.”
The summer rains had entered the space and soaked the old carpets, leaving them in ruin and causing unsafe conditions. Knowing that repairs to the flooring would have to be made, Ralph pitched the idea of painting the hall as part of a small renovation project.
“The idea was to make the place more inviting and hospitable,” Ralph says. “Seeing that hospitality is a large pillar of stewardship, I thought doing a little more to make a larger impact on the space would be worth it.”
Once the old carpets were removed and the space was safe to work in, Ralph and nine other volunteers painted the roughly 10,000-square-foot space.
“We spruced it up with more modern earth tones, getting rid of the cold black, white, and grey palette,” Ralph says.
After the paint had dried, the new carpet and vinyl wood flooring were laid. The renovations were completed with the addition of a new TV projector and some finishing decorative touches.
The new beige and light brown hues of the carpet and paint seemed to be the right choice. “We have received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback,” Ralph says. “People are saying the space feels better and that it has a warm atmosphere.”
Since the renovations were made, the space has hosted a number of meetings and has even been the setting of a one-person theater production.
Although the renovations were rather simple, in Ralph’s view, he thinks that they can broaden the utility of the space.
“Now that we have a ceiling-mounted projector with a screen that is retractable, we can use the space for training and educational purposes,” he says. “We could even have a movie night.”
Overall, the project took about six weeks to complete. Ralph is proud of the work that he and the other volunteers did. It made him reminisce about the days when maintaining the Church was a community task.
“There is something about working with people that allows you to get to know them better,” Ralph says. “We had a lot of fun with our ‘painting party’ and to receive such positive feedback has really made us volunteers feel good.”