PUC Partners with Maranatha for McReynolds Hall Renovation

From August 10 to 20, 36 Maranatha Volunteers International and Pacific Union College volunteers, faculty, staff, students, and community members collaborated to renovate McReynolds Hall, a residence hall primarily used when academies and other groups visit campus.

The PUC Administration team has anticipated Maranatha’s return to PUC for a few years now, since their last project visit in 2019, when they successfully renovated and refreshed 31 Newton Hall dorm rooms and bathrooms, and continued the same project in 2020.

The goal was to refresh as many of the 48 rooms and common areas as possible, starting with 16 rooms in wings A and C on the first floor. The plan was to remove old carpets and obsolete desks, paint the rooms, and install new vinyl plank flooring (LVT), shades, and lights. During this project, they completed 24 rooms and 12 bathrooms across two first-floor wings and the third wing, excluding floor preparation and installation of the new vinyl plank flooring in the B wing, which was more than they had originally planned.

They began their project by removing loose furniture, including two beds and a dresser, old blinds, existing built-in desks, and carpets from the rooms. They painted the rooms and bathrooms, including the paneling below the cabinets and bookshelves and in the closets, and installed new medicine cabinets, mirrors, and light fixtures over the sinks. After scraping off old carpet glue and exposing a smooth concrete floor, they installed new vinyl plank flooring, which will be easier to maintain and keep clean.

Although they couldn't complete the renovation of the entire building, Maranatha Construction Supervisor David Gott said the team was willing to return in the future to finish the project.

PUC Maintenance Supervisor and Tradesperson Bruce Setterlund expressed appreciation for the positive attitude and hard work during Maranatha’s visit. “The Maranatha volunteers are always a pleasure to work with,” said Setterlund. “They showed up on the first day of the project ready to jump in with both feet. We struggled early in the project to find the best way to remove the old carpet adhesive, but nothing dampened their resolve even when it looked as if they would be on their hands and knees scraping glue for 10 days.”

Although Maranatha is widely known for its international projects, Jensen shared that most of their projects have been in North America. For this particular project at PUC, he shared that they drew on volunteers largely from California, but also from Alaska, New York, Tennessee, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, as well as a couple from Guernsey Island in the U.K.

“Maranatha teams enjoy helping schools, camps, and academies because it means we are furthering the Gospel through this kind of work,” said Maranatha Project Manager Edward Jensen. “These are evangelistic tools we can provide, especially since we have high-quality volunteers with backgrounds in construction and industrial arts, as well as people from all walks of life who want to help. Hearing stories about what the college has done for several PUC alumni who came out to participate made the work more meaningful and valuable.”