Act of Service - Day 2

I performed another act of service today, but I have to admit that I did not enjoy it as much as my time yesterday. In fact I am left with a very unsettling feeling of frustration.


About a year and a half ago a local business man bought our old high school. 11 acres with 55,000 square feet. He bought it with the desire to give it back to the community to be used as a community center. because of my experience with non profits, he asked me to help set up a board and file for a 501-C3. Over the past year and a half we have restored the auditorium wing and received a $50,000 grant to help in the project. The school district uses the stadium during football season and the ball fields during baseball season.

And that is where the problem came in ... when the school used the stadium concession stand in the fall, they left it with food all over and dirty, dirty, dirty. The fact they left food in there, meant that the rodents have been dining well in the last months. To further complicate things, someone broke in and sprayed a chemical fire extinguisher everywhere. It left an inch of chemical powder over all the food, mouse droppings and general ick.

Today three of us donned air masks and began the long process of cleaning the mess up. It was not pleasant work, further complicated by the respirator that I had to wear to save my lungs. We made a good start on the mess and worked for 2 hours in the heat. We probably have another couple of hours of work ahead of us before it is usable.

I found instead of that warm feeling that comes from serving, filling my heart when I was done, I was ... well kind of angry. Angry that the concession stand had been left in that shape, angry that the school did not clean it up when they discovered it and angry about the senseless vandalism which made everything so much more complicated.

But I know that anger will not solve this problem. So I am scheduling a meeting with the school district to iron out our use agreement for next year. It is time to be proactive and not just whine about the problem.

Sigh ... sometimes I wish life was easier ....

Just Connie