MARYSVILLE — Although a lot of locals have invested a lot of love in the Marysville Boys & Girls Club, unit director Christina Trader and her staff have dealt with water-stained walls, ceiling leaks and a lengthy list of minor fixes.
So when 250 area employees of Comcast descended upon the facility April 30 for their ninth annual “Comcast Cares Day,” she was just as excited as the kids who have made the club their second home.
“Our teenagers got to pick out the new paint colors for their space,” Trader said. “This means so much to us.”
Comcast employee Jim Billings couldn’t put a price on what was accomplished.
“We never consider these projects in terms of a price,” Billings said. “You can’t put a pricetag on giving back to the community.”
Fellow Comcast employee Bryan Hammer noted that most of the materials — including a pool table, beauty bark and more than 50 gallons of paint applied outside and inside — were donated.
“This building has sustained some smoke and fire damage that we’ll be working on,” Hammer said. “We’re also installing light fixtures in the alleys around the building, to help keep people honest.”
The Comcast crew also traded out well-worn furniture and games for newer models, and remedied rooms with insufficient numbers of electrical outlets.
“The more welcoming this place is for kids, the more likely they are to grow up into happier, better adults,” said Debbie Beaman, administrative assistant for Comcast’s Everett field office. “We actually had to turn potential volunteers away, to make sure our customers were well-served today.”
Those who did turn out had plenty to do. After a crew of 30 performed prep work the day before, carpenters installed new doors; cleaners dusted down computers and scrubbed bleachers and bathrooms; and painters not only took rollers to the facility’s pressure-washed exterior, but also dressed up recreation and activity rooms in bright Seahawks team colors.
“Plus, you’ve got enough cable guys here to install some TVs properly,” Hammer laughed.
Trader pointed out that many of the club’s patrons are low-income children for whom the club is their window into a larger world.
Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring was impressed to see reupholstered floors courtesy of Bundy Carpets, while storage spaces were emptied out so supplies could be touched up and more organized shelving could be installed.
“It’s a veritable army,” Nehring said. “I’ve never seen anything like this here. This place has needed more than a little TLC for a long time, so the fact that Comcast chose us for this service is very impactful on the broader community.”
