Volunteers working to revitalize town of Stafford

Driving around Stafford, Kansas, you might see a fresh coat of paint on some of the buildings.

It's all thanks to a group of volunteers working to revitalize the town.

"The community's good to be involved in," said Stafford City Clerk Jamie Downing. "I've lived in the community my whole life. I have two children and a husband."

As city clerk, she knows what it takes to keep Stafford improving. She's also part of a group called PLAY (Parents Leading Active Youth), which spent years raising money for new playground equipment and fresh paint at the city park. That equipment had not been updated since the 80s.

She is one of several volunteers giving the 130-year-old town a new look.

"There's been painting going on downtown," she told us. "It's the Stafford Call to Action group, has been a part of getting this downtown revitalization going."

With the age of the town, some buildings are in need of a makeover.

"We're going to start refacing some buildings, and painting," Jan Turner told us. She's another volunteer. "In fact we've done our first project down at the lumber yard."

Jan jokes that she's a newcomer to town, "I've just been here 31 years," but she also wants to see the town thrive.

"It's a pretty close-knit community, you know we're always trying to improve," Jan said.

She opened "The Gathering Place," a restaurant and music venue for people who do just that...gather.

Five years later, she says the facility has been a hit.

Community members we spoke with say they want to make sure small town living can still feel brand new.

"But we're just trying to work on one building at a time," Jamie said.