Transforming a former arts school into a hub for all things family and kids in St. Michael-Albertville spells a lot of work for FYCC.
Fortunately, volunteers from Home Depot and Behr Paints were more than willing to ride in for a rescue.
Cici Colehour, coordinator of “Team Depot” for the Monticello Home Depot store, pours some of the donated Behr Paint as volunteers renovate the inside of the former city hall in Albertville.
For the second time in less than four years, FYCC Director Sandra Greninger called in for a favor from Home Depot as the organization looked to flip the old Albertville City Hall, which has since served as a fitness studio and acting school, into the new FYCC headquarters.
“I knew it would take a lot of paint and a lot of teamwork, and these guys have helped us out before,” Grenginger said. “It’s a great program.”
The Team Depot program, coordinated by Monticello store employee Cici Colehour, collected paint, brushes, tape, pans and more to help turn black walls into more “presentable” colors for FYCC’s space. Offices and meeting areas were also painted to a more “traditional” palate of navy, white and brown, vs. the former red and black around the studio spaces.
“It’s a way that the stores and our employees can give back to our communities,” Colehour said. “Today it’s painting, and we’ll be back to help Sandy in a few weeks with some shelving and some other things. FYCC does a lot of good things, so it’s a pleasure for us to help out.”
About a dozen volunteers were on hand throughout the day Tuesday, July 8. Greninger treated them to doughnuts for breakfast, as well as pulled pork sandwiches she brought from home to feed the group a nice lunch. Refreshments were also on hand, all collected from previous FYCC donations.
This isn’t the first time Home Depot has ridden to the rescue. The Team Depot program also donated lumber, siding and shingles for a huge shelter and starting house at the St. Michael BMX track, located at the Recreational Park in St. Michael.
“I’d estimate this current project at a couple thousand dollars in paint, shelving and supplies. That BMX project, of course, was much more substantial. But it was a our first project with FYCC,” Colehour said.
Behr sent a couple of paint representatives to help with application, as it donated dozens of buckets of paint. Home Depot employees from Monticello and Maple Grove stores donated time, as did friends.
Chris Nordberg (Behr), Jack Zacherias (MG Home Depot), Gary Randt (MG), Nikki Gammel, Cici Colehour (Monti Home Depot), Nathan Kiekenapp (monti), Aubrey Walters, Brent Burns (Monti), Sicara Bluhm (Monti), Nick Sundberg (Monti), and Jim Strom (Behr) are joined by FYCC head Sandra Grenginger (middle, glasses) as they work on renovating the inside of the former Albertville City Hall on Main Street in the new FYCC headquarters.