This past July, a group of eleven youth and nine adults from St. Michael’s Church in Holliston traveled to Wyoming County, WV to spend a week volunteering with Appalachia Service Project. Appalachia Service Project (ASP) is a non-profit organization that pairs volunteers with families in need of home repairs in Central Appalachia, with the mission of making homes warmer, safer and drier. This was the fourth time that a group from St. Michael’s volunteered. Though most ASP volunteers are youth, many adults volunteer as well. The group from St. Michael’s included six families who volunteered together, and this was the second volunteer experience with ASP for many.
The trip was coordinated by Cathy Harper, Leader of Youth Ministries at St. Michael’s, and a past volunteer. Youth, led by St. Michael’s Youth Minister Jarvis Wyche, worked with the adult volunteers to prepare for the trip a year in advance. They raised funds, learned about the Appalachian region, people, and culture, and had several training sessions on how to properly use tools under the guidance of Don May. Don was one of the adult volunteers on the trip, and is an experienced carpenter. To earn money for the trip, the group baked holiday cookies, helped people move, did yard work, held a car wash, and babysat. They also built and sold two benches, with the money going toward trip expenses.
The group rented three large vans to transport their tools and passengers for the 13-hour trip. They stayed at a K-8 school in Bud, WV, along with ASP volunteers from Illinois and North Carolina. The St. Michael’s group was divided into three work teams, each with their own separate home and family to work with. One group built a deck, another group repaired a roof, and the third group installed flooring and renovated a bathroom. Volunteers continued the work that other groups had already completed earlier in the summer. ASP has the difficult task of selecting home repair applications that can be completed in seven weeks, the length of time that ASP runs a volunteer center for the summer. All of the St. Michael’s teams were able to finish their projects by the end of the week, which was the also the last week before ASP left the area after a summer’s work.
Volunteers from St. Michael’s were Abigail Pinter Parsons, Jeff and Michelle Tate, Samantha Tate, Henry Tate, Bob and Paula Colburn, Alexandra Colburn, Kathy Longee and Grace Longee, all of Holliston; Don May and Tess May of Millis; Jenzi Reed and Dana Tilton of Concord; Youth Minister Jarvis Wyche; Josh Rice, Tom Rice, Stacey Thorner, Ben Thorner and Caroline Thorner, all of Ashland. Josh Rice is currently serving in the United States Air Force, stationed in Japan. He volunteered on the trip while on leave.
The experience of volunteering is life-changing for the youth, as well as the adult volunteers. “The opportunity to live through the St. Michael’s mission in a palpable way has given the participants a perspective that has impacted personal, career, and spiritual growth. This experience was an opportunity of sharing and receiving; the sharing and receiving of gifts, hugs, skills, knowledge, and love,” said Wyche.
The group is already planning another trip to volunteer with ASP for July 2018.
Issue Date:
January, 2017
Article Body: