'Townie Project' Gearing Up for E. P. High School Gym Restoration

The “Townie Project” wants your help. You can have a lot of fun while lending a hand and digging into your wallet.

The “Townie Project” is the grassroots effort to raise approximately $90,000 to restore the East Providence High School gymnasium to its so-called glory days as one of the best facilities in Rhode Island. 

But it's also an effort "to bring East Providence back to where it used to be through a facility that everyone can use," said Shane Messier, the dean of students at the high school and one of the Townie Project's most active volunteers.

"We want to show people we can came together and do what we need to do to make Townie Pride mean something again," Messier said.

The project grew out of the vision of 1999 alumnus John Carnevale, a mechanical engineer for Raytheon in California who founded the nonprofit organization, D'Amours Step, to build a medical center in Uganda and start providing medical care and education to other communities worldwide. It has grown into an effort that includes 15 to 50 volunteers meeting around a conference call every Monday morning with Carnevale.

"He wants the gym to be his first project in East Providence," said Messier, who also coaches softball at Martin Middle School.

Over the next few weeks, several fundraisers are planned to turn that dream into a reality, Messier told the East Providence School Committee on Tuesday evening.

Before Messier got into the details of the fundraisers, he asked if there was anybody in the Council Chamber in City Hall who hadn’t heard about the gym restoration. A couple of hands went up.

“Then we need to spread the word,” he said. “We want everybody to hear about this.”

The gymnasium restoration includes replacing the bleachers, repainting the walls and refinishing the floors in the 50-year-old facility.

“The north side bleachers have already been removed,” said Tony Feola, facilities supervisor for the high school, who joined Messier at the podium along with physical education teacher Jay Monteiro on Tuesday night.

“When the volleyball season ends,” Feola said, “we’ll remove the south side bleachers.”

They also mentioned that the new electronic bleachers are a gift from Providence College, which is replacing bleachers in one of its gyms. They are being stored right now in the cafeteria of the former Watters school building in Riverside. 

“We want to be ready to go for a September opening,” said Feola.

Back to the fundraisers.

Messier said the first fundraiser is a pasta dinner on Friday, May 24, at 5:30 pm in the high school cafeteria. The cost is $10 and there will be music and a raffle.

"It will be a fun night for everyone," he said.

A day later, on May 25, there will be the Townie 5K run or walk starting at 9 am at the high school. It, too, will include music and a host of other activities, including a BBQ, to turn the event into a festival.

Then on June 2, to get high school students and teachers involved as much as possible, there will be a Bowl-a-Thon at the Bowling Academy from 4 to 6 pm.

“We’re looking for teams,” said Messier, who issued a challenge to the School Committee and the City Council to form their own teams. 

About three weeks later, on June 22, there is a motorcycle run, a pig roast and a fun day planned at the Whiskey Republic club in Providence, he said.

"That's an adult event," Messier said.

You can more details on all these events at the website for D'Amours Step.