The local Evening Telegraph newspaper compared Grimsby 1st congregation’s annual ‘Helping Hands’ project to the popular TV programme “60 Minute Makeover”. The project at the Littlecoates Community Centre, performed by local members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, actually took much longer than 60 minutes! Families and missionaries from the local congregation brightened up the main hall of the centre by painting all the walls, skirting boards and ceiling.
- Grisby 1st congregation perform service in Grimsby
- Grimsby lst congregation members performing Helping Hands service
- A before photo of the service offered by the Grimsby 2nd congregation
- An after photo of the service offered by the Grimsby 2nd congregation
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
The event was part of a project co-ordinated with community interfaith group, 'Communities Together', who are committed to rejuvenating the centre. The building is a busy central point in the community where classes such as new age curling, line dancing, brownie meetings, card making, keep fit, Zumba, dance classes and pop-in mornings take place.
Les Bonner, Chairman of the community centre committee said “There are a number of things in the centre that need improving. Giving the main hall a new coat of paint was our first priority. We have many groups that meet here including a number of older residents and now they will have somewhere much nicer to spend their time”. Bishop Andrew Pearson commented to the reporter “This community centre is a great asset to the local area and we are delighted to have been able to help decorate it”.
A second project by members of the Grimsby 2nd congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints involved clearing and cleaning a hospital quadrangle at the Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital. “We turned a wilderness into an oasis,” commented Douglas Kerr from the congregation on the 'Helping Hands' annual day of service project. The guadrangle is regularly used by the hard working doctors and nurses of the Orthopaedic clinic to escape the stresses of hospital life. This place of refuge had become somewhat overgrown and untidy so the members rolled up their sleeves and got to task with tackling the overgrown plants and weeds.
The Grimsby members were up against a timescale as the weather forecast was that rain was imminent any minute. However they were blessed with "a window of sunshine" after days of monsoon like weather, the heavy rain having softened the weeds making them easier to pull out. In fact it wasn’t until they were admiring their completed work that the rain came down heavy giving a finalising clean sparkle to their hard work.
Hospital sister Rachel Beckett said "Wow, what an improvement. We are so grateful for the work the church members have done here today". There were many other positive comments from the nursing staff too on a wonderful and valuable day of service in the community."