The Dr. Martin Luther King Civic Center in East Cleveland, Ohio, got some love from members of the community on Monday as volunteers gave their time to give the facility a needed facelift.
The main area volunteers were working on, according to News 5 Cleveland, was the gym floor, which had fallen into serious disrepair, with portions of the floor sagging, bowing or missing.
“The main issue we had was the basketball court having dents and bumps,” Chantal Brown, one of the first volunteers to sign up for the project, told News 5. “You’d trip over it when you try to make a shot. To me it wasn’t rough until I’d go somewhere else and look at their facility. I said, ‘wow, ours could look way better.’ “
Volunteers spent the day removing the floor piece by piece, and trucking it out with large carts.
The community is leading the way on the renovation project, which will help save on labor costs. Meanwhile, two local non-profits, Birthing Beautiful Communities and East Cleveland RISE, helped provide additional funds by collecting private and corporate donations for the project. Forthcoming renovations include a new playing surface, new equipment, fresh paint and HVAC repairs.
“I’m going to feel really proud of myself and everyone else for being willing to get off the couch and pitch in,” Brown told News 5. “I think more people will take more pride in it because it’s something they built.”
