Church of the Resurrection gives makeover to Woodland Early Learning Center

Nearly 300 volunteers painted the corridors of Woodland Early Learning Center in northeast Kansas City, Missouri, over the past week to brighten the school's interior.

Cristen Summers

Church of the Resurrection worked with Kansas City Public Schools to organize the makeover. Volunteers said they did it not only for the students, but for the school's staff, too.

John Batten/KSHB

"We had an apricot color up, so you know that's eh," said James Johnson, the school's lead custodian. "But it's OK, it's for coffee shops, maybe, right? For coffee shops."

Johnson said he used his vacation time to join volunteers to help paint the school where he works.

"How could I take a vacation and see these people volunteering their time?" he said.

One volunteer Johnson joined was Liz Campbell, the Pre-K partner program lay leader with the Church of the Resurrection.

John Batten/KSHB

"(The building is) 103 years old and has been used for a lot of different stuff in the community, kind of an institution in the northeast," she said. "It's really been a cool building. It was just a little dark."

Bridgette Crutchfield, Woodland's principal, knows it will mean a lot to the school's community.

Woodland is part of the Head Start program, and its wrap-around services are offered to both students and their families.

"I think they will just appreciate the fact that someone was willing to invest some time in our small program to help their lives be a little bit brighter and better," she said.

Crutchfield said the freshly painted walls brightened up the school and will be calming and inviting for students.

For the volunteers, it was all about helping one another in the Kansas City community.

"If we all make a little bit of a difference, we'll make a big difference in the world," Campbell said.

—