BUENA PARK : Volunteers Spruce Up Youth Club

For the members, the novelty of recent renovations at the Boys & Girls Club has almost worn off.

They argue about plays made on the softball diamond that wasn’t there a month ago, and they quietly read books out on a new covered patio.

If asked, they’ll simply say they like the $200,000 worth of improvements and then go on with painting their ceramic flowers in a room that has clean, new counters, or await their turns in the woodworking shop, kept clean with a new $5,000 dust remover.

“The counter used to be white and the bathroom used to be green,” was all Lisa Hawkins, 10, had to say, except to add that the place seems cleaner now.

The renovations, which include new or upgraded wiring, bookshelves, carpeting, paint, roofing, doors, landscaping, fences and equipment, are the result of a project taken on by several corporations through the Volunteer Center of Orange County West.

Although the comments from the children have toned down a bit, they could hardly contain themselves when they first saw the changes, said Lupe Bravo, director of operations.

“When they brought the kids off the bus (after the major renovation work and landscaping was completed), one of them said, ‘Wow, this looks like a jungle,’ ” she said.

This was the eighth year in which the Volunteer Center brought together the business sector to help out a nonprofit organization, said Director Michael Falk.

The 23 companies involved contributed materiel and 350 volunteer workers, who completed much of the renovation work on two Saturdays in May.

Such comprehensive improvements had not been made to the building since it was built in the 1950s, said Jean Morgan, the club’s executive director.

“This is something that would have taken us five years to do with the long-range planning and fund raising,” said Morgan, whose facility was chosen for the work from 200 applicants.

The chain-link fence and field improvements have allowed the club to expand its membership, now at 275, because more children can be outside while other children play inside.

Without the fence separating the club from William Peak Park, the staff could not as easily let the children play outside, Morgan said.

Jim Swofford, who grew up just two blocks from the club and spent many years inside its loud gymnasium and game rooms, now owns an electrical company and frequently donates time and equipment to the club. He was also a part of the recent project.

“If you saw it before, it’s really a nice sight in Buena Park now,” Swofford said. “I have two children here and they come home and they’re real proud of their club.”

Swofford rewired the building and bought and installed a lighted sign out front. He also wired the new computer room for 20 terminals.

The overall feeling, from the staff to the children, is that the changes are a welcome improvement, Morgan said.

“I think the environment the kids are in is very important,” she said. “Some of them come from homes where the environment is not a very good one. If they can come here and learn respect and how to care for their environment, I think that’s a very important social skill.”