photo by Jason Schoonover

Rick Walther, wearing a headband, and his son Nick assemble a park bench in Hollandale Tuesday as part of Shinefest.

Small towns join in

Hollandale park gets a facelift from Shinefest’s service-minded volunteers

By Jason Schoonover | Albert Lea Tribune

Published Wednesday, August 19, 2009

HOLLANDALE — Yellow is a common color in Albert Lea and surrounding towns this week, as volunteers from area churches participate in Shinefest, a week of service projects.

Hollandale’s park was one location for the Shinefest volunteers Tuesday. More than 25 volunteers worked in Hollandale starting at 5 p.m. to install park benches, move and restore the beach volleyball court and tidy up other areas of the park.

“I think it’s nice for the community. It gives everybody a little spirit of community unity,” said Arlie Olsen, a resident of the Hollandale area. He worked to mix concrete to lay the new yellow poles of the volleyball court. This was his first Shinefest experience.

A group of volunteers started playing music shortly after 6 p.m., and a hot dog feed started soon after.

“It’s a combination get some work done and try to bring the community together a bit and have a good night,” said Dave Vanderploeg, Shinefest liaison for the Hollandale Christian Reformed Church. He helped coordinate the project in Hollandale.

Other volunteers also painted part of the Hollandale museum.

“It’s fun to help out people. That’s the best part of it,” said Rick Walther as he and his son Nick assembled a park bench.

To prepare for the week of service, about 10 people hold monthly meetings, and there’s another meeting each with the liaisons from the 16 churches involved in Shinefest.

Projects are set up by members of different churches and different towns. Mark Whillock, a Shinfest volunteer, said those involved with Shinefest then support each project.

“It’s really surprising how well organized it is,” Olsen said.

While the crews work to build things in the community, Whillock said they mainly try to build relationships.

“The main goal that we’re shooting for is a closer relationship with each other and closer relationship with Christ,” Whillock said.

Shinefest volunteers approach representatives with the cities and schools in the area to ask what kind of projects they’re in need of.

The different communities, schools and businesses provide the materials for the projects, and the Shinefest volunteers do the work.

For instance, in Albert Lea, the city provided concrete and wood chips for improvements to the disc golf course at Bancroft Bay Park. Shinefest provided the volunteer labor.

On Monday and Tuesday evenings from 5 p.m. to past dusk, the Shinefest volunteers, aided by a few disc golf players, installed concrete tee pads and spread wood chips around the disc golf baskets.

“It’s a great relationship because it really shows that we really want to give back to the community and be a part of the community. They show us that they want us here — they like the help,” Whillock said.

Shinefest projects are also a way to expose non-church-goers to the church community, Whillock said. That’s why fun events like hot dog feeds and the movie are tied in with the volunteer efforts.

About 16 communities are involved in Shinefest, and Whillock said they’re trying to reach out more to rural communities like Hollandale.

“Sometimes it’s good to know that the little towns matter and the people out in the little towns matter,” Vanderploeg said.

Last year, Vanderploeg met with the Hollandale City Council to talk about the idea, but he said he and the council weren’t sure what to expect.

“This year when I came back to them and said we want to do it again, then they embraced the idea more and realized the potential and, consequently, put a lot more work in it themselves,” Vanderploeg said.

On Wednesday, there will be free give-a-ways of water bottles, Frisbees, pedometers at various places around town.

The efforts on Thursday will be largely focused at Albert Lea schools, as volunteers will put down wood chips on the playground areas.

After that, there will be a hot dog feed at Hammer Field, where the film “Facing the Giants” will be shown.

From 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, volunteers will change a vehicle’s oil for 60 families in need. At the same time, there will be a free family store set up that will include toys and other materials. A Red Cross blood drive will be held at Crossroads Evangelical Free Church from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Friday is an open day to complete projects affected by rain.

Whillock described this week as a time for the faith community to flex its muscles. However, outside of this week, Shinefest volunteers typically try to help when needed rather than instigate projects. There’s also a fall fundraiser and the Shinefest Tractor Ride.

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