Today we went back to the shelter where we did the STEM Fair to volunteer again. This time we were painting the room that would become the food pantry.
We arrived around 1, and were greeted by the volunteer coordinator. She led us into the elevator and we went the third floor. We stepped out into an industrial kitchen. The volunteer coordinator told us that this facility used to be a nursing home, and this was the kitchen.
Their plan was to repaint the kitchen and then use it as food storage. She showed us the painting supplies, then we got started.
Jewel and I started on one wall, while Jackson and Justine worked on another. First we taped off the bottom ridge where the tile went up on the wall a little bit. Then we taped light switches and other things on the walls.
After that we poured paint into the trays and assembled the paint rollers. I started off with a brush painting the edges near the tape, since you need more precision than a roller could give. After a while we switched.
Jackson and I had never painted, while Justine and Jewel had more experience since they were set decorators for school plays. So, as you can imagine, I was not very good with a roller at first. However, I slowly got the hang of spreading the paint evenly.
In the end, we finished 4 walls in the pantry. That was more than we expected to accomplish, so we were pretty proud of ourselves.
Overall, this was a good experience. It felt good to know we were helping people. It was also a good learning opportunity for Jackson and me because we are a little better at painting walls now. It was a patience exercise, because we were not good at it at first but we slowly got better at it.
