Ask anyone why they are volunteering for community service and they will say ‘to give back to the community’.That happens to be exactly why I signed up to help with a Habitat for Humanity project sprucing up the old Pembroke Rest Home on Parsons Road in Pembroke. The building had not been occupied in years and was badly in need of renovation.When I arrived I immediately felt a little out of place as everyone was wearing a blue T-shirt with the name of an accounting firm on the back. I wore a green shirt, and a black baseball cap turned backwards to keep any paint from falling in my hair.I found Nicola Feldman who was running the Habitat for Humanity side of things for the Pembroke Parish Council who wanted to turn the place into residences.“We’re cleaning right now,” Ms Feldman said and disappeared. I looked around a little frantically for a broom, a mop, a bucket or even a place that didn’t have a blue shirted person already sweeping away.“Um, excuse me, is there something I can do to help,” I said to anyone who would listen.I was led through a warren of rooms to another lady who was directing things.“You need a partner,” she said. Apparently, I had to have a partner; it made for a better bonding experience.Me: “Well, okey-dokey”.I was passed to two girls who stated they did not need another partner, but they did give me what I thought was a broom. They marched me down the hall and deposited me with someone else. This new person looked at me in confusion. Back through the warren we went until she could find yet another person to leave me with. My new “partners” promptly walked off. It was primary school physical education class all over again.Finally, I found a place on a work crew who were cleaning a room in what was formerly the men’s quarters of the rest home. You could tell it was the men’s quarters because there were still signs saying “men’s quarters this way” and “women’s quarters that way”.I stood and watched as two girls swept the floor. I tried to sweep, but one girl informed me, helpfully, that I was actually carrying a scrubby brush not a broom, so I needed a bucket of water to go with that. I stood with a boy holding a mop, and waited several minutes for a bucket to arrive. As we watched the girls sweep I stood there thinking darkly that they seemed to have enough people already and didn’t need me with this project.At that moment a bucket of water and bleach arrived. The girls went off to sweep another room and we started to mop and scrub. It was wonderful to finally be actually doing something and I felt a bit brighter.While slopping water onto the floor and scrubbing away until my arms burned, I tried to get to know my new partner. He was an intern at an accountancy firm. He said they were all summer interns assigned to Habitat for Humanity for the entire three days of the project. Some of them were happy with that and some of them clearly were not.“Oh, are they trying to get rid of you for the day?” I said jokingly.“Yes, I think they are,” he said a little mournfully.In addition to the interns, all college age, there were also several brawny boys from the US Coast Guard ship The Eagle that was in town. My partner and I went on to scrub at an ancient bathroom that was even dirtier than the previous room. On my hands and knees scrubbing behind a toilet, I felt like I was caught in a scene from the movie ‘Annie’. I expected little girls to appear swinging buckets and singing: “It’s a hard knock life”.And it was hard, or at least it was hot and stuffy. My hair was soon soaked with sweat.When we finished up the room, everyone gathered to collect supplies and start painting. I had actually bought my own painting tools. Well at least I have a partner now, I thought. I looked up to see my him slipping away.I tried to paint with a group of girls in one of the rooms, but they kept tripping over me as they tried to paint the walls higher up with a long handled roller.Eventually, I took my roller and paint and started to walk through the complex. It was a rambling building with at least 20 rooms. In every room there was a different set of old tile on the floor. Some of the tile patterns were so hideous I felt my eyes burning from the indignity. There was a courtyard in the middle with a bird bath. The building also had a lovely porch on one side.Some former paint choices raised some questions about the taste of the former occupants. In a sitting room and hallway on one side of the building the walls had been painted a horrendous bright gold. The paint we were using on all the walls was light beige, which was no match for the gold that shone brightly through the first coat applied.The place still had a lot of work to be done, but clearly when it was finally renovated with fixtures somewhere in the ballpark of the current century, it would be lovely. It was nice to feel a part of making that happen.Finally, I found my way back into the room we had scrubbed earlier. There was no one there. Blissfully alone, I began to roll paint onto the walls. It was very satisfying to see the walls brighten up before my eyes.I went back to work for lunch and never felt so grateful in my life to be sitting in air conditioning. I went back after an hour and continued painting the same room. At 2.30pm after I managed to get all the way around the room, it was time to call it quits.Good feeling volunteer glow aside, honestly, the best part of the whole thing was walking across the street to the Pembroke Playground car park and buying a sour lemon flavour snow cone. Standing in the shade swallowing the cold, sour treat was heavenly after the heat and labour in the old rest home.I would recommend a volunteer project like this with the caveat ‘do not go alone’; take a friend or loyal colleague. It will make everything go a bit easier.