Groundbreaking impact: ASU Polytechnic campus flooring project combines community service and sustainability

At the heart of the Arizona State University charter, there is a commitment to assume “fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities it serves.” A recent flooring removal and installation project, spearheaded by the ASU Polytechnic campus and the city of Mesa, has become a groundbreaking example of the ASU charter in action.

Since November 2024, nearly  200 local volunteers have worked to repurpose the wooden flooring of the former Williams Air Force Base elementary school, a site closed since 1993. Located south of the water tower on ASU’s Polytechnic campus, the school’s flooring is being donated to the Mount Calvary Baptist Church of Mesa to help upgrade their youth recreational center.

For Pastor David Wade of Mount Calvary Baptist Church, this project addresses a pressing need in the community. 

“Where we are, there are no facilities that don’t cost individuals a dime,” Wade said. “Everything is $200 or more. In an urban community, how can you afford $200 a week?”

This collaboration began with Mesa Mayor John Giles, who has worked with Pastor Wade for decades.

“One of the needs of the congregation that Pastor Wade and I talked about was the fact that they have a gym with a floor that’s not functional for real sports use,” Giles said. “I heard years ago about the repurposing of this building. I approached the folks who were involved in the facilities out here because it seemed like there was a match. We just needed to introduce A to B.”

The project also reflects ASU’s commitment to sustainability. The Williams Air Force Base elementary school, which has served as a storage facility since the construction of  the Interdisciplinary Science and Technology 12 building, no longer needed its wooden flooring. By repurposing this resource for community use the project prevents waste while creating new opportunities for local youth.

“We wanted to create an opportunity to encourage young people and children to move away from computers, to move away from the cell phones and texting,” Wade said. “Now, they can get out and do some activities outside of the house.”

The project’s benefits extend beyond Mesa. Excess flooring will be donated to a program in Phoenix that supports basketball camps for local youth. Abram Ellsworth, the on-site volunteer coordinator, provided background on the additional donation.

“The excess is going to a facility in Phoenix used for basketball camps,” Ellsworth said. “It’s not just benefitting Mesa youth. It’s benefiting Phoenix youth.”

While the flooring donation began recently, the overall project has been underway for years. It has been a collaborative effort put forth by the ASU Polytechnic campus facilities team, the city of Mesa and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The connection between ASU and the communities it serves has an enduring impact, drawing in different groups of people to donate their time and talents to a unified goal.

“ASU and Mesa have a strong partnership going back many decades, but it’s really been strengthened in the last 30 years,” Giles said. “Years ago, I realized that Dr. Crow has the same agenda as the mayor of Mesa, and that is to serve the people of Mesa, to increase our educational attainment, and to help us with economic development.”

While the project’s success is now apparent, reaching this milestone required overcoming significant challenges.

“We were initially going to have a contractor guiding the removal phase, and the contractor sold to another party,” Ellsworth said. “The new party was planning to do it, then came out here and said, ‘This is too big, it’s not a good idea.’ We didn’t want [the project] to die, so we got some volunteer labor.”

Guiding the volunteer side of this project, Ellsworth spoke on the remarkable turnout from volunteers found using JustServe.org, reaching close to 200 in total.

“It’s been a blessing if I had to choose one word,” Ellsworth said. “The community has shown up so well. We’ve had soccer teams, staff from restaurants, some National Guard, SRP, National Honors Society, friends and families. Seeing so many people from different walks of life support this has been awesome.”

For some, volunteering was a way to connect with their community during the holiday season.

“My family wanted to do a service project for the holidays,” said Wyatt Bentley, 21, who participated in the final flooring extraction with his family. “It’s great to take time and be thankful for all the blessings we have, so we came out to return the favor and give to others.”

The project completed its final flooring extraction on Dec. 14, 2024, but its impact will resonate for years to come.

Giles spoke on the impact service projects such as this one have on the community, once more encapsulating the importance of ASU’s charter.

“What a wonderful experience for [volunteers] to have the satisfaction of providing service and knowing that they’re playing a role in something really positive happening in the community,” Giles said. “This is something that will stick with the people involved, and it increases the goodwill in our community.”