Community pitches in to
renovate pro-life office
By Tony Gosgnach
A recent renovation project at the Hamilton Right to Life office, that has vastly improved the facility, brought together "quite a group" of volunteers from throughout the community and across the denominational spectrum, says the organization's president.
"We've bought new furniture, painted and reorganized the office," said Tom Kelly. "It's a much better-looking resource centre for people to come into. We have a good library of books, videos and audio tapes. It's also more efficient for people to come in."
Between Oct. 29 and Dec. 5, some 20 people painted, cleaned, did carpentry work, replaced ceiling tiles and performed other tasks as the new office took shape. One couple, Goretti and Jamie Raposo, showed up almost every night. Others came from West Highland Baptist Church, the Hamilton Catholic Singles organization, the small Christian faith community at Regina Mundi Parish and other churches in the Hamilton area.
Angelo and Joseph Scime, carpenters and brothers of well-known Hamilton pro-life activist Dr. Carmelo Scime, contributed their skills and erected a new bookcase, while several board members of Hamilton Right to Life dropped in occasionally.
"We're deeply grateful to all who volunteered their time," said Hamilton Right to Life's office manager, Sharon Snaith. "They had love in their hearts. It was an ecumenical renovation party. Everyone did it out of love."
Other sectors of the community also played a part. A business gave a good deal on carpet cleaning, while Cabral's Gifts donated a crèche and statue of the baby Jesus for a Christmas display. The efforts culminated in an open house on Dec. 5, when three occasions were marked: the completion of the renovations, the Christmas season and the 30th anniversary of Hamilton Right to Life.
More than 60 people dropped by the office during the day, including three priests who blessed the facility, and Marcel Castura, director of education for the Hamilton-Wentworth Roman Catholic Separate School Board, on whose land the Hamilton Right to Life office sits.
Snaith said the wide appeal Hamilton Right to Life enjoys in the community is demonstrated by the fact that, although she has only been working with the organization since October, she has already met people from many different nationalities, faith groups and walks of life. "They are strongly pro-life and are willing to roll up their sleeves and do their bit."
Kelly added that the renovations will allow Hamilton Right to Life to perform its mission of getting the pro-life message out more effectively. "We're going to do some recruiting for new members. We're going to reinvigorate what used to be our liaison network with the various parishes and churches. And now that everything's been moved around, our office can function better as a meeting centre, where we can have meetings among liaison people and others."
