With seven schools at Camp AJ this week for WorkFest (up from five last week), we began three new crews: yellow, brown, and red, and other crews began new jobs this week. Today I visited four of the jobsites, and I was blown away by how different some of them look from last week. It’s really amazing how much work can be done by the college students and their crew leaders in such a short amount of time. On Monday, some of these students may have picked up a hammer for the first time. By Wednesday, they were putting up a roof!

The biggest “wow” factor of the day was seeing Blue Crew. On this site, CAP is building on a two bedroom addition, replacing the roof and deck, repairing the floor, replacing several windows and doors, and adding siding and a new heat and air system. Last week, the Blue Crew (among other projects) paved the way for the new addition. This week, the Blue Crew’s hard work really made it look like a whole new house.

The homeowners of this project have three children, and when this two bedroom addition is complete, they will all have their own room. I can’t wait to see what the Blue Crew has in store for next week.

Amy Schill is CAP’s Volunteer Recruitment Coordinator. You can see the progress of all the jobsites at www.facebook.com/ChrisAppProj.

Share on Facebook

“How’re ya feelin’?” I asked as I approached the trailer.

“Mostly with my fingers,” he replied with a grin that was barely noticeable on his mouth but that twinkled in his eyes.

I met Earl and Sarah at the home of one of my participants last week. They aren’t a part of the CAP elderly program, but they had requested that I come by their place to see if we’d be able to bring some YouthFest volunteers to help them out. They admittedly are the kind of folks who hate to have to ask for help, but they need it badly right now. Earl has cancer and a limited amount of time left here, and he wants to leave his wife with as light a burden as possible.

Earl is a handsome older gentleman with the posture of a military general and the easy-going manner of your favorite uncle. He wears a bright plaid shirt, dark blue jeans, and an old trucker cap. His face is long and square, and it would be stern if the corners of his mouth didn’t twitch upward and his eyes didn’t light up at the telling of a joke. He’s a born story-teller, a retired semi driver who’s traveled the country, experienced the lonely romance of the American road, and who has decided that his hollow is the only place in the world worth living in. The first time we met, we talked like we’d known each other for years. He told me stories about his travels to New York, slipping in funny anecdotes and close calls. At one point, Sarah walked by, and his wry humor gave way to genuine emotion. “That’s my world,” he said to me, looking straight into my eyes. “I could have spent my whole life looking and I’d never have found another woman like her.” He spoke with the self-assuredness of a man who is completely aware of his own mortality. Not only is he resigned to it. He’s at peace with it.

I stopped by their trailer for the first time today. I probably would have missed it if they hadn’t come out to greet me, flanked by three friendly mutts; I thought it to be abandoned. The place is in pretty rough shape. It doesn’t have a bathroom or running water. The yard is littered with debris, and the trailer itself is in a total state of disrepair. My stomach twisted into a knot as I thought of how difficult it must have been to stay warm there this winter, and how they would never have thought to complain or to ask for help before now.

Earl strode up to me, excusing himself to see a friend who lived up the hill. The effects of his recent surgery were painfully evident; the tip of his nose was gone, replaced by gnarled stitches and dirty gauze. Sarah smiled and invited me inside to sit with her and her son and to discuss what the YouthFest volunteers could handle. In keeping with their personalities, Sarah and her son didn’t ask for much. Only for the yard to be tidied a little bit. Perhaps the kids could dig to find the water line that had been covered up by run-off from a rainstorm. That’s all.

They showed me around the property, pointing at different areas that needed particular attention. Sarah extended her arm and swept it across the yard, saying, “This is the homeplace. He refuses to move. He was born here, he was raised here, and he’ll die here.” I smiled and told her that I was sure that the volunteers would love spending time with her and Earl, and that they would be more than happy to give the couple a hand. I explained that, while the work itself would be both challenging and rewarding, the kids would gain so much from conversations with the two of them.

“Earl’s such a great story-teller,” I told her. “He’s a wonderful person.”

“I know it,” she said with a sad little smile. And she really did.

As soon as I’d gotten out of range of the trailer, I cried. I can’t even tell you for sure why, exactly, I was crying. The situation itself is undoubtedly sad, but there was an emotion stronger than sadness working in my heart. I felt overwhelmed by Earl and Sarah – in a good way. Their life is one of extreme material simplicity. Earl’s been handed a slow and painful death sentence, and Sarah’s condemned to watch him go, only to be rewarded by a new kind of poverty, experienced by herself and not with her soul mate. But they smile. And everything about their relationship with one another speaks of love, respect, and gratitude. With the house literally falling down around them, they focus on each other, and they’re happy.

I can’t wait for the YouthFest volunteers to meet these two. They’re in for a treat.

Bridget McCormack is a long-term volunteer in CAP’s Elderly Services program. She lives in Jackson Volunteer House.

Share on Facebook

Well, this last week was spent doing final preparations for WorkFest at Camp Caleb. This meant that we did a lot of driving and picking up and dropping off materials. After this week I was pretty tired, but excited that WorkFest is finally here because this where I first experienced CAP and my love for eastern Kentucky.  So this week’s blog is short and sweet, but I’m sure I’ll have lots of stories for next week!

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”  Colossians 3:23-24

Kate Stefanowicz is a long-term volunteer in CAP’s Housing program. She lives in Floyd Volunteer House.

Share on Facebook

Friday morning, we officially closed the first week of WorkFest. The students began the week as groups of separate schools, but by the end had come together as a community, and had become especially close with the members of their crews. One of the ways WorkFest is different from other alternative spring breaks is we intentionally split schools up so that they will be working with students from other schools. Sometimes we have resistance from schools, either because they would rather work with their friends, or because they want the trip to be a time of bonding and spiritual growth within their school group. Usually though, schools recognize the value of creating a larger community by the end of the week, and end up making some great friends by being forced out of their comfort zones. We ask college groups to meet for reflection time in the evenings so that they can maintain that bond with their classmates during the week.

Friday closing is always emotional: WorkFest can be an intense experience, and on Friday morning we give volunteers the opportunity to share any thoughts they have with the larger group. It’s great to see how close the students have become with their crews and participant families, and how this experience has changed them. We challenge the students to tell people about what they’ve seen in Appalachia and to continue to live as people of service when they return to their schools. Obviously, I would love for all these wonderful people to come back to CAP, but I realize that’s not in God’s plan for everyone. But what I do know is that God is calling each one of those students to serve, in some way.

To all the students, crew leaders, and cooks who made week one of WorkFest possible, thank you so much! To everyone else in cyberspace, please continue to keep our participant families in your prayers.

Amy Schill is CAP’s Volunteer Recruitment Coordinator

Share on Facebook

There’s a magical place in eastern Kentucky….it’s called the Manchester Bakery. Operated by a group of Mennonites in Clay County, Kentucky, Manchester Bakery makes donuts and other baked good that are, well, heavenly. Once a week at WorkFest in our Cumberland Valley region, the Volunteer Program delivers donuts to all the jobsites. So today a couple of our long-term volunteers and myself got to be the donut ladies. We also brought some hot chocolate, since it’s been pretty cold this week.

The other great thing about donut day is that an office worker like me gets a chance to see all the great work the college students and other volunteers are doing. With only three days of service under their belts, the volunteers have accomplished an incredible amount of work, and all the projects are looking great. And many of these students are doing things they’ve never done before, learning skills that will prove valuable when they become homeowners themselves. Below is just a sample of what I saw today.

Amy Schill is CAP’s Volunteer Recruitment Coordinator.

Share on Facebook

To many WorkFest alums, those words immediately bring to mind Mitch Barrett, an amazing performer and storyteller and longtime friend of CAP. Tonight Mitch brought down the house with another great show of traditional mountain music and his own original folk songs.

Music is an important part of Appalachian culture, and we always have some form of musical entertainment at each week of WorkFest, whether it be Mitch, a bluegrass band, or singer/songwriter Carla Gover. The region has an incredibly rich creative tradition, and we’re happy to send students home with an appreciation Old Time music.

Tonight I also hosted an information night for students interested in summer or post-graduate service. Some had a particular interest in CAP, while others are feeling a strong pull towards service but are not exactly sure where God is calling them. Over the years I have met several former WorkFest volunteers who ended up serving for a year at other organizations. While we’d certainly love all those folks to return to CAP, it’s wonderful to hear stories about how they first heard the call to long-term service at WorkFest.

Tomorrow I head out to see the work the students have accomplished so far. Pictures to come!

Amy Schill is CAP’s Volunteer Recruitment Coordinator.

Share on Facebook

As someone who first came to CAP through WorkFest, I am in love with this time of year. Not only do we get to accomplish an incredible amount of good in a short time, we are re-energized by the wonderful students we get to meet each year.

Yesterday we kicked things off with our first week of WorkFest at Camp AJ. Because not many colleges have their spring break this early, we have just five schools this week, but I can already tell they are a great group. The schools this week are Marywood University from Scranton, St. Xavier from Chicago, Bellarmine from Louisville, Western Michigan University, and Valparaiso University from Indiana. You can see their pictures below.

We always start the week off with an orientation. My major role is to get the group excited by asking the all important question, “Can I get a WorkFest?” The correct answer of course is a rousing “WorkFest!” I am happy to report this group is throughly excited already.

As I write this the groups are at work on their first day on the jobsites. This week begins jobs for the Blue, Orange, Green, Purple, and Black Crews. Click on the respective links to see “before” pictures of all these jobs. We will post more pictures as the jobs progress.

I did not get many pictures last night, but I will try to be better as we go along. Thank you so much for all your prayers, and please remember our participant families in a special way. Having ten college students at your house all of a sudden can be overwhelming!

Amy Schill is CAP’s Volunteer Recruitment Coordinator.

Share on Facebook

With it only being a week away from WorkFest beginning in the Sandy Valley Region, we spent most of this week continuing to get ready, which I never realized how much work went into the planning and setting up of WorkFest. So on Monday we got to take a trip to the Coca-Cola bottling company in Louisa and pick up a donation for WorkFest and YouthFest. It was pretty cool to see the bottling company because they still had all the old machines they used when they bottled Coke in glass bottles, so we got a little tour of the company by one of their employees who has been at this same bottling factory for 44 years, which I thought was pretty amazing. He also knew all the history behind the company which was really interesting to listen to as well.  The rest of the week was spent bringing more donations to Camp Caleb, which is where WorkFest is being held in this region, and then we also finished up some work on the house we are currently working on. We put in a window and took out two doors and put in two new ones. Our participant was really excited to find us putting in her new doors when she came home from work and it was nice to see her as well because we haven’t been working on her house for the past few weeks because of the weather. On Friday night a bunch of the volunteers went out to dinner for Tamara and Kathleen’s last night at CAP. They were both short-term volunteers and they lived at Floyd House and this weekend was their last weekend, so it was really nice to all hang out together for their last night, but then again it was sad saying goodbye to them Saturday morning.

On Saturday I went out with Tony (my crew leader) and Kyle (another housing volunteer) and we helped repair a deck that had some broken posts and needed to be reinforced so it wouldn’t fall down. And as usual Sunday is our chore day and kind of a day of relaxation before the week starts up again.  Check out some pictures below from the week!

Kate Stefanowicz is a long-term volunteer in CAP’s Housing program. She lives in Floyd Volunteer House.

 

 

Share on Facebook

Beginning February 28, 2010, more than 400 college students and short-term Housing crew leaders will descend upon eastern Kentucky for WorkFest–CAP’s annual home repair and building blitz. As in past years, we are hosting groups at two sites: Camp Andrew Jackson in our Cumberland Valley Region and Camp Caleb in the Sandy Valley Region.  Over the course of four weeks, the lives of twenty Appalachian families will be forever changed. Their homes will be warm, safe and dry, but more important–they will know that college students from around the country loved them enough to spend their spring break in service to others. And the students will form a community dedicated to showing the love of Christ through humble service.

This page is your headquarters for WorkFest 2010. Below you will find information on WorkFest dates, participating schools and the families we’re partnering with this year. We will be updating this page throughout March with pictures of how the jobs are progressing. If you’re coming to WorkFest this year, we look forward to having you!

WorkFest 2010 dates
Week 1:  February 28-March 5, 2010 (Camp Andrew Jackson)
Week 2:  March 7-March 12, 2010 (Camp Andrew Jackson and Camp Caleb)
Week 3:  March 14-March 19, 2010 (Camp Andrew Jackson and Camp Caleb)
Week 4:  March 21-March 26, 2010 (Camp Caleb)

Participating Schools
Groups from forty-four schools will be making a difference in Appalachia.

Job sites
To respect the privacy of our participant families, jobs are identified by crew color names rather than by family names. Check back throughout March for updated pictures.

Share on Facebook

This past week, my housemate Jordan and I visited a couple in the Elderly Services program – Ed and Anna. Ed is sixty-five and Anna is sixty-four, and they grew up together in a hollow not far from where they live now. I’d met Ed last week at the commodities food distribution, but this was my first time seeing their home and meeting his wife. He greeted us on the porch as we walked up to the house. Ed’s a tall man with a big mustache and a mess of silver hair on top of his head. He wears large eyeglasses that magnify the size of his eyes, and I haven’t seen him yet – in person or in pictures – without a pair of dark blue overalls. The huge smiles and warm welcomes we get never fail to make my heart jump up in my chest.

As luck would have it, they had three of their grandchildren visiting that day. The house was a flurry of activity, with “Dora the Explorer” blaring in the background and a play-kitchen being put to some serious use. Their grandson looked to be about eleven, and their two granddaughters were somewhere around seven and four. They regarded me shyly while their grandmother asked me questions about my home and their grandfather sat in a chair next to me, grinning broadly. The youngest granddaughter was absolutely beautiful; she had big blue eyes, and golden curls framed her chubby little face. When she laughed, it came out in a joyful little giggle, and dimples imprinted themselves on her cheeks as she played on her brother’s lap. I didn’t even notice the braces on her legs until her grandfather made me aware of them.

She was in a horrible car accident recently with her brother and her father. I’d heard about it the week before, but I hadn’t made the connection. I’d been told that she’d been partially paralyzed. It broke my heart; this lively little girl would struggle with that injury for her entire life, and it didn’t even appear that she truly understood that yet. There wasn’t any time to feel sorry for her, though.

“Wanna see her walk?” Ed looked at me hopefully. My eyebrows raised a little. I looked over at the girl, then back at Ed. “Sure,” I said. Ed jumped up excitedly and took the girl’s hands. The little trooper slid off her brother’s lap and onto her wobbly feet. With Ed holding her hands up high, she took one shaky step, and then another. I could see the intense concentration on the girl’s face. Ed walked her all the way down the hall and back, while the rest of us watched. When she finally sat back down, we all gushed excitedly, congratulating her and telling her that she’d done a wonderful job. And Ed looked about ready to burst with pride.

Life is a dizzying mix of trial and triumph. Our characters are partially defined by our reactions to these incidents in our own lives, but I think the truer test is how we react to those of others. We are called to celebrate this life with those around us. And it is as much of a blessing to extend a hand to get someone back on her feet as it is to take that hand and walk forward. That is the miracle of love.

Bridget McCormack is a long-term volunteer in CAP’s Elderly Services program. She lives in Jackson Volunteer House.

Share on Facebook