By Isaac Ceja / Real America News
22 Oct 2024, 00:20 AM EDT
The last time Greater Phillips Chapel Church in Campton was renovated was 10 years ago when the roof fell in, but since then nothing had been done to the exterior and the weather was slowly beginning to take its toll on the structure of the building. who already needed a cat’s hand.
That is why on Saturday when dozens of volunteers began to arrive to paint and clean the church, Pastor Thomas Benjamín could not believe what he was seeing.
“It amazes me that people have that genuine love to go out and help others,” Pastor Benjamín said with a smile on his face. “This is the true definition of what it means to make a sacrifice and a blessing at the same time.”
The effort was made possible by the non-profit organization The Compton Initiative, whose goal is to renew the city of the same name and its surroundings through painting homes, schools, churches and murals, etc.
In addition, the organization’s volunteers are from the same city and outside, who meet every quarter during community cleanups in different parts of South Los Angeles.
Bellflower resident Bill Mulder has been a volunteer with The Compton Initiative for nearly 20 years, thanks to his children who asked for his help with more complicated jobs.
“I was an electrical contractor, so I have some skills and I was able to do some different things at this church as well,” Mulder said. “We put up some molding, replaced a door and made some repairs to the electrical cabinet.”
Although Mulder takes on slightly more complicated projects, he emphasizes that there is all kinds of work for anyone who wants to help.
He himself says that he takes care of everything the volunteers need so they can work easily and make a structure look better and be more functional for the community.
“It’s nice to see so many people volunteering with a smile on their face,” Mulder said. “They get dirty, they sweat, they get blood on them and they work as hard as they can and they do it because they love the community.”
Since its founding in 2006 and to date, The Compton Initiative has beautified more than 800 homes, 470 buildings in 50 schools, 250 murals, 90 neighborhood cleanups, 60 churches and 100 public spaces, according to the website: justdogood. org/about_us/
The nonprofit hopes that with each beautification, residents will see their neighborhoods clean and well-painted and feel proud of where they live.
In 2022, Latinos represented 71% of the population in Compton and had a percentage of 29.4% immigrants, according to Data USA.
Currently, in the city 17.7% of the population lives in poverty, a figure higher than the national average of 12.5%.
Compton Ward 4 Councilwoman Lillie P. Darden is also a member of the church and says she enjoys working with The Compton Initiative to pursue their goal of cleaning up and beautifying the city.
Despite the work that has been done with the organization, Councilwoman Darden expresses that her next goal is to focus on supporting local businesses.
“We are now working with businesses to get them grants to help them improve their facade,” explained Councilwoman Darden. “Because it makes a big difference when you walk into the city and see wonderful, beautiful things.”
Pastor Benjamin was also part of the effort to paint the church and is grateful for what that supportive effort means to his community.
“I am so grateful that you have chosen to come here and allow our church to be a part of the blessings,” the pastor said.