Friday, August 07, 2009

Fixing up the Newman Center

I've been getting thoughtful emails and notes from former parishioners and friends, asking how things are going here at the Newman Center. A few of them have made the comment that it's probably quiet here now, with the students away on summer break. Sha! I understand their thinking, but there has been much going on here this summer. We've undertaken many projects to fix up the Newman Center; most to address structural problems in this 100 year-old home and some to improve things aesthetically.

Here are pics of the Center - these qualify as "before" pics - and some of the projects that we are working on. I will post their "after" counterparts in the next few weeks. It's very exciting!! Btw, we welcome donations - these are expensive repairs and improvements.


Let's just say that the Center will get a facelift!


We'll spruce up the front yard with some flagstone and new landscaping.


We'll clean up the mess in the backyard and build a brick door at the pit. Also, the University will be replacing the broken fence.


If you've been in the kitchen anytime in the recent past, you've seen the mold problem on the wall. The basement has some pretty bad water damage. We're waterproofing the foundation as much as possible and then putting up new drywall. Also, we just got a new stove! Score!


Ewww..dirty kitchen floor. We'll clean it and make it shine as much as possible. Also, we'll replace broken tiles.


Water has been leaking from the balcony roof into the parlor ceiling...not good! We'll fix that, and then maybe even rearrange the parlor a bit. I want the Center to have a mini-library of cool Catholic materials (brochures, pamphlets, booklets, books, etc.). The parlor is my first choice, but it may disturb the "lounge area" of the parlor, so we would just put the resources elsewhere in the Center.


The deck on the roof will be looking sweet in a few weeks after some repairs, powerwashing, and staining.


One change we did not wish to make has to do with our beloved campus minister, Alecia. Alecia and her husband, John, are moving to North Carolina this month because John recently accepted a position at Wyngate University. We will miss Alecia very much! She has given her heart, mind, soul, and strength to GW students for the past four years. We wish her and John well. We will never replace her, but hope to find someone to fill her position asap. Please pray that God sends us the right person.

7 Comments:

At 10:40 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I see potential there.

 
At 11:57 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

lounging area should be a perfect area for some resource material. The key- some built-ins. They aren't that difficult. Lounging and reading kind of go hand in hand

 
At 12:01 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

you know, there's a lot of workers and skilled craftsmen who are out of work right now and would likely donate services and possible even product. I was offered new cabiinets from a builder who had an overrun from his project, but I wasn't willing to rip my kitchen apart. There's lots of help out there if you but only ask.

 
At 12:02 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Also- don't know @ insurance concerns, but some of the clean up would be an awesome service project from some of the high school kids.

 
At 12:33 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I thought of high school students also, but even better would be to enlist the college kids. They need to make it their own...a place where THEY feel comfortable, knowing they contributed. The structural work needs pros, but certainly they can handle the yardwork and help with decor.

 
At 3:17 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great pics and some good times lie ahead – perhaps some elbow equity! It looks like you're off to a good start though. It also looks like the perfect "Got free time?" or "Got Boredom?" ad to dangle in front of my kids when they mouth off at having to clean their room and help out around the house (in the luxury of air conditioning). Perhaps they'd rather clean a floor, lay tiles, help tape and prep drywall, pick weeds, and the list goes on! Best of luck. I'm sure the results will be impressive.

 
At 10:05 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing what you have been up to. You know we all miss you already. My two cents...I think some burgundy and gold pansies out front would look terrific with the house colors. They'd make the place look fabulous right through football season and up to graduation.

Enjoy!

 

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