Anita Moneypenny paused for a rare rest in the shade Friday afternoon in front of the Baker-Donora Center on Baker Street in Lansing. She kept planning to sit down but never made it to a bench — various volunteers kept interrupting her attempts at respite.
She points out each person walking by, stating their name, where they are from, how long they’ve been volunteering in the neighborhood and sharing a bit about their personality. As director of the Baker-Donora Center, she’s known many of them for several years, some their whole lives.
Regardless of how long they’ve known her, all of the volunteers met Moneypenny on the corner of Baker and Donora Streets last Friday for the same reason: to give the homes in the neighborhood one hell of a makeover during the Baker-Donora Center’s 6th annual “Extreme Street Makeover.”
The exteriors of 26 houses on Donora Street and the surrounding area will be refurbished in a frenzy of paint chips and swinging hammers in this neighborhood that sometimes is labeled as one of the worst in Lansing.
Neighborhood volunteers gathered in scorching heat to put some hard work into nearby homes, doing everything from trimming trees to installing windows.
“I always rely on neighborhood folks. This center wouldn’t survive without volunteers,” Moneypenny said.
“It’s always a neat thing to do with the people,” said Bob Irvine, a fourth -year volunteer from Olivet Baptist Church. “You get a chance to get out and help a little bit.”
Help also came from another sector. Four members of the Lansing Police Department lent a hand in the makeover.
“This is a really nice community, actually,” said Baker-Donora area’s Community Policing Officer Brian Whitsitt. “There are a lot of nice people who live here. You get out and help people with some of their needs and stuff like that. It really enhances the partnerships between the police department and the public. It’s really good. You get to work alongside the people and actually get some time to talk to them out of uniform. It’s just a good relation-builder between the police department and the public.”
Moneypenny agrees.
“The Lansing Police Department gets involved in a lot of our programs,” Moneypenny said. “It bonds the neighbors with the police officers and they get to know each other, not as a police officer and a resident, but as people. Brian is a human being just like we are and he takes great pride in the community he works in.”
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