Local business owner Tim Metcalf truly believes that "it takes a village" to better his community.

Metcalf, the owner of Dean-O's Pizza and Kajun Kickboxing, is hoping to turn those words into actions later this afternoon as he took to Facebook over the weekend and called for volunteers to join him in cleanup and repair efforts at the Domingue Recreational Center near Clark Field on the northside of Lafayette.

Domingue, along with the northside rec centers, has been in the headlines over the past few weeks after projected budget cuts seemed to threaten their future.

Community members spoke up and eventually, Mayor-President Josh Guillory clarified that the centers would remain open but Guillory, along with members of the City-Parish Council, made it very clear that changes were needed on a larger scale when it comes to how our public parks are funded to avoid having their fate constantly hanging in the balance.

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Simply "keeping these centers open" wasn't good enough for Metcalf, who reached out to the Mayor-President's office to find out what he could do beyond just "throwing money" at this community issue.

I’m always looking for a way to give back and boots on the ground and community involvement will keep these centers not only open but in better shape and appreciated more.

The motivation for Metcalf to take action came after he saw the public outcry to keep the centers open.

The community centers are important, more so than I thought after seeing the outcry to keep them open. I’m a country boy, our neighbor's barn was the community center. The plan is to have the community embrace the centers, like a barn building party when the neighbors burned down. Maybe paint the basketball courts with something that reflects the neighborhood. People who hang goals are probably less likely to tear them down.

Metcalf's post got a solid response on Facebook with over 50 shares and 120+ likes and numerous comments from those who were inspired to help. One of the more high profile comments came from UFC champion Daniel Cormier, who personally commended Metcalf for looking out for one of the centers that helped shape him into the champion that he is today.

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Today's cleanup and repair efforts aren't just a one and done event. Metcalf hopes that these types of efforts will help to inspire others to "basically take ownership of their center, with help from a public/private cooperative effort."

If you're interested in joining with the community and being a part of this effort, join Metcalf between 2p and 3p at the Domingue Center.

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