By Patricia LeBoeuf, Bennington Banner
BENNINGTON — When Grace Christian School administrator Shawn Smith needed help on a special school maintenance project, he knew just who to call.
Students.
After rain prevented a mission team from North Carolina from doing much outside work last week, Smith sent a call out for help with refurbishing the school’s dilapidated tennis court, part of an effort to make it a useful area for multiple activities.
About six current and former students showed up Monday to help prep and paint the chain-link fence and resurface the court.
“I like helping other people,” said Aaron Jones, 18, a senior at the school. “I like feeling accomplished — knowing I did something today.”
He worked to prep the fence for painting, covering it with primer and using a small lighter to burn off vegetation that had clung to the fence.
Alissa Boucher, a 2018 graduate of the school, said she often helps on various school projects. “I love coming and doing things for the school, just because I want to see it succeed,” she said.
Boucher remembers her experience at the school fondly. “There wasn’t a day that I didn’t like going to school,” she said. “I wanted to be here.”
Boucher worked to prime the fence for painting Monday afternoon alongside Natalie Waters, library and computer science teacher.
“I try to do as much as I can for the school,” Waters said. “It’s a great place.”
The school depends on volunteers a lot, as it receives no government funding, she said.
“Having volunteers is what makes everything happen,” said Craig Mosher, director of maintenance at the school. “Many hands make light work.”
The plan for the day was to get the fence primed, start painting and fill in cracks in the tennis court’s surface, he said.
“There’s just so much square footage,” he said. “It’s a lot to do.”
The goal is to have the tennis court refurbished for this school year as a multipurpose area for things like hopscotch, four square and dodgeball, Smith said. The school rarely uses the tennis court, as it is in disrepair, he said.
“It was just an eyesore for years,” he said.
The tennis court was part of the hotel that occupied the school’s building on Kocher Drive, before the school purchased and renovated the hotel in 1998.
Projects like this fit with the school’s goal to give students opportunities to serve, Smith said. “To show them that they can actually make a positive difference,” he said.
Patricia LeBoeuf can be reached at [email protected], at @BEN_pleboeuf on Twitter and 802-447-7567, ext. 118.
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