Jeff Ballantyne balances on scaffolding while he applies a fresh coat of paint to 320 Blaine Avenue. Jeff is part of the crew of the Paint the Town Project in partnership by Marion First Church of the Nazarene and Downtown Marion Inc. (The Marion Star photo)

A couple of houses on Blaine Avenue will have a new look come Monday morning.

If Marion First Church of the Nazarene and Downtown Marion Inc. have their way, those will be only the first of many across the city to benefit from Paint the Town, a volunteer effort seeking to improve the appearance of homes and neighborhoods citywide.

"In essence, the purpose behind the initiative is to upgrade the appearance of at least two homes on a particular block to stimulate a change in the overall appearance of targeted neighborhoods," said Vaughn Sizemore, a consultant for Downtown Marion.

Paint the Town began as a discussion in 2014 between leadership of Marion First Church of the Nazarene, whose home is at 233 W. Church St., and representatives of Downtown Marion. Together they "began to research a concept aimed at the regentrification of neighborhoods in and around the downtown area. Simply stated, many homes in the core of Marion might be dramatically improved in appearance with fresh paint," Sizemore said.

The Rev. Gregg Parkman, First Church of the Nazarene's associate pastor for young adults and community outreach, said the project began modestly.

"We were actually looking out the back of the church and some of the houses back there, and we thought, 'Those are not bad houses,'" Parkman said. "All they need is a coat of paint. That whole project started with that conversation."

Sparking interest

The Rev. Don Diehl, the church's lead pastor, said he hopes Paint the Town catches on with other churches and organizations as well.

"We hope some other churches see that and think, 'Hey, maybe we could do the same,'" Diehl said. "And we could accomplish a few great things in Marion if all of us joined arms and get it done together."

First Church of the Nazarene's pastors and Downtown Marion representatives decided owner-occupied homes would be targeted for the free assistance.

Beth Meadows, Downtown Marion board president, said her organization is "thrilled to be able to partner with them in this project, and hopefully it won't stop with Marion First Church of the Nazarene. We hope there will be more churches, other organizations, who say, 'I want to be a part of that. It means a great deal to us.'"

Parkman said in selecting the first painting project, which will paint houses at 320 and 321 Blaine Ave., which are located across the street from each other, planners turned to the relationship fostered by the church's Adopt-a-Block ministry. The volunteers will apply primer Friday and paint Saturday.

Through the ministry, church members were assigned to eight streets — Blaine and Olney avenues and Chestnut, Leader, High, Orchard, Pleasant and Pearl streets — where they visit homes each Saturday morning.

"We take notes on how we can pray for them," he said. "If there's something we're promoting for the church, we give them invites for that; just a lot of touches, anything we can do for them, can we pray for them. We invite them to our services."

Trustworthy approach

Diehl said approaching homeowners with whom they were familiar enabled Paint the Town organizers to overcome the potential barrier of mistrust by homeowners suspicious about people offering to paint their houses for free.

The two homeowners were excited to be chosen, he said, adding that one said she had been "praying for several years" that someone would paint her house "because she knew she didn't have the strength to do it or family members that could do it for her. To her, it was an answer to her prayer."

About 55 volunteers, including 15 retirees who are doing the preparatory work, are helping to paint the house. Diehl said the church has two members, Adam Reed and Trent McDaniel, who are contractors that are leading two teams of painters.

Sponsors for the first two houses are Sherwin-Williams, which is donating the paint; The Warehouse, which is providing food for the volunteers; Peacock Water, which is providing water and supplies for the volunteers; Snyder Funeral Homes; and the Fahey Bank, Sizemore said.

Tim and Krystyne Kelly are providing T-shirts for volunteers.

Contributions to Paint the Town can be made to Downtown Marion, which is a 501(c)(3) organization, to which all donations are tax-deductible.

Parkman said he hopes the project not only helps the people whose homes are being painted but also the sense of community in Marion.

"We really want to make a statement that the church and some of these organizations we partner with are here to make a difference in Marion," he said. "We want to stick with people that own their homes, give them the extra help that they may need. If you see a need, fill a need. That's kind of our slogan."

--Republished with permission from The Marion Star