An army of 350 Helping Hands volunteers renovated and restored the clubhouse and grounds at the Jindalee Recreation Reserve over the past week. The clubhouse is home to the Jindalee Jaguars Australian Football Club, part of the Brisbane Junior AFL, as well as the Centenary Little Athletics.
The army of volunteers was a part of the Helping Hands programme, an initiative of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter–day Saints, which undertakes both disaster relief throughout the world and service in local communities throughout the year. The volunteers came predominantly from Eight Mile Plains and Centenary stakes (diocese) with some volunteers coming from as far as Redcliffe and Ipswich.
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
Matthew Bourke, a counselor in the Jamboree Ward (congregation) said that "the Jags Junior AFL Club is an institution in the area and it's critical that we get these community and sporting groups back to normal as soon as possible after the floods." He was impressed with the outpouring of support from the community, restoring faith in humanity. "These are enduring traits of being Australian", he said.
Jason Eldering, President of the Jindalee District AFC, said "after floods peaked over the roof of the clubhouse I was concerned about how long it would be before the club could reopen its doors. I estimated that with the extensive damage to the clubhouse and grounds we would not expect to be fully operational for up to 12 months. But after the mammoth effort put in by the volunteers, including all the skilled tradesmen, it could be as little as two weeks away from reopening."
Renovations included some improvements including a disabled toilet and new doors. On Saturday the work culminated with a massive effort of painting, clearing the grounds, landscaping and preparing sporting areas with 60 tonnes of sand, as well as assisting with some repairs of the Little Athletics storage areas and facility.
Jason said "the clubhouse has actually been restored to a state that is better than before the flood, which is incredible. The reopening of the club and continuation of sport for the local children allows that sense of community and belonging, it allows them some sense of normality after the devastation of the floods."
According to a report which appeared in The Satellite, Eight Miles Plains stake president, Keith Walker, said, "we're happy to be involved in the community and helping the kids. Many of the kids represent the families that have been affected by this flood so we're happy to assist in the community."
Jason was amazed at the scale, structure, organization and professionalism of the Helping Hands volunteers, he said, "It is like a backyard blitz just unfolding before your eyes with an amazing transformation of the clubhouse, grounds and facilities, thank – you this has been amazing".
To read the story featured in The Satellite click here.