Trevor Wagner knew his mother was up to something.

She was wearing a special T-shirt and moving all of the furniture out of the playroom at his after-school care center where she works, and he didn't believe her excuse: "We're cleaning the floors."

"I knew something was going on," the 11-year-old Broadstreet Elementary School student said.

His mother, Amy Tebay was, indeed, up to something, and she had plenty of accomplices.

Team Depot, the charity arm of Home Depot, hosted a 24-hour renovation of the Butler Salvation Army Worship and Service Center's after-school recreation area last Thursday, beginning when the after-school program ended the day before. It included new paint, lighting fixtures, ceiling tiles, tables, chairs and supplies.

More than 50 volunteers from Home Depot, Slippery Rock University and the Salvation Army staff started worked that night and throughout last Thursday to surprise students. The area was outdated and, besides a few coats of paint throughout the years, hadn't been remodeled in at least a decade, staff said.

Pollie Fife, Team Depot captain of the project, attended the after-school care program as a student when her mother volunteered there more than 20 years ago.

"This place was home," she said as she prepared to paint a wall bright green. "To be able to turn around and do this is great. I know the kids will appreciate it."

"It was total shock," said Mrs. Tebay, office manager at the center. "They just stood there for a minute, like they didn't know what to do."

Team Depot groups from each Home Depot store volunteer for at least one service project per year in their community. The Salvation Army project, Ms. Fife said, was the product of luck.

Jeremy Hinesman, project coordinator at the Salvation Army, was looking for chalkboard paint in the Butler Home Depot in September when Ms. Fife was the manager on duty. She told him about the Team Depot projects and encouraged him to apply.

By January, the two were conspiring over paint swatches and cabinet designs.

The Club House, the main hub of the program, is host to an average of 20 students ages 6 through 12 Mondays through Fridays as well as students for other activities, such as Sunday School. The walls are now bright green, purple, pink and blue with matching furniture. The reading room is light blue with clouds and has a custom-made, 5-foot-by-7-foot stars-and-stripes rug.

Team Depot volunteers, all employees of the local store, constructed tables and matching stools with built-in cubbies for each child in the weeks before the big renovation.

A small performance stage, art center and a window seat also were part of the surprise.

When students showed up Thursday afternoon -- and volunteers weren't quite ready to unveil the project -- the youngsters were moved into the gym to keep them occupied.

In the end, all of the work was completed just after deadline, except for wooden closets that have not yet been built to encase accordion-style room dividers.

Casey Claypool's favorite part of the renovation is the reading room's new couch and rocking chair.

The 10-year-old Broadstreet Elementary School student said the clouds and patriotic theme were "cool" and that the rest of the Club House's vibrant colors were some of the best parts.

Team Depot provided a $1,200 gift card for supplies, and the rest of the funds and supplies were supplemented or donated by local businesses and organizations, The entire project cost an estimated $2,200.

Amanda Spock, service project president of Sigma Gamma Gamma at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, brought a sorority sister and four classmates to help wash walls and tear down old ceiling tiles the night before remodeling began. The Slippery Rock students also pitched in to purchase school supplies.

"We usually come just to play with the kids, but it's nice to do something special for them," said Ms. Spock, 20, a sophomore psychology major from White Haven, Pa., Luzerne County, who has been a volunteer at the center for a year.

Businesses that donated supplies included Big Lots, Old Country Buffet, Frames and Pixels Inc., Stanley's Bakery, Behr Paint and Mohawk Flooring.

Past Team Depot projects were held at East Christie Park in Butler and the YMCA at Armco Park. The group also provides thousands of project supply kits to children throughout the year.