Christian Appalachian Project’s Volunteer Program has three guiding principles, or pillars, that reflect what volunteering for CAP is all about: Service, Spirituality and Community. We use the three-legged table metaphor to illustrate the importance of each pillar—all are essential to keeping volunteer life balanced. Because CAP is a Christian volunteer organization, the service and spirituality aspects are the most obvious. Though “community” might not be the first thing that comes to mind when people think of volunteer life, it is an absolutely essential—and exceptionally rewarding—component of the CAP volunteer experience.

Whether a volunteer serves with CAP for a week, a summer or a year, he or she does so not really as an individual, but as a member of a unique community of volunteers who share a common commitment to serving families in need in Appalachia. CAP’s volunteer communities are incredibly diverse in terms of life experience, education and background. This diversity lends itself to a rich community experience where recent college graduates may realize that retired grandmothers can still run circles around them, and where someone who has never cooked can learn there’s more to the culinary arts than BLTs. As of this writing, CAP has 58 long-term (serving 9 months or longer) volunteers from 20 different states who range in age from 19 to 77. One visitor to a CAP volunteer house called our volunteers “a collection of [the] best and brightest caught in a moment of pure generosity.” It is in community that this generosity can develop and blossom in CAP’s service programs.

The center of CAP community life is the volunteer house. Though some volunteers choose to find their own housing, most live in one of CAP’s seven volunteer houses, and volunteers who do live independently participate in volunteer house life by joining the house for dinner and prayer at least twice a month. A CAP volunteer house is so much more than a shared living space—it is a place of fellowship, self-discovery and most of all, fun. Friendships are formed, more than a few practical jokes are played and a skilled baker can always find housemates willing to try a new treat. Our houses are a source of pride for our volunteers, and years later volunteer alumni write their own revisionist histories of how their community was “the best volunteer house in CAP.” Volunteer houses are a starting point for road trips, lively discussions, and, though dating is not exactly encouraged, a few romances. Many former volunteers have met their spouses through CAP, and we’ll forgive them with the understanding that all progeny will be future CAP volunteers.

Because community is so essential to the volunteer experience, the Volunteer Program evaluates applicants not just on how effectively they can serve the people of Appalachia, but how well an applicant can fit into community. Applicants should ask themselves questions about how they communicate with others, how they deal with conflict and how they interact with people from different faith or other backgrounds. For long-term applicants, the personal interview in Kentucky gives potential volunteers the invaluable opportunity to spend a night or two in a volunteer house to see if community life is really for them. If God is calling you to make a commitment to service, spirituality and community, please consider applying to be a long-term volunteer.

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The last two weeks I have spent at home with my family in CT. About three months ago I requested and was granted another term of service with CAP, and we get two weeks off in between our first and second years. I can’t tell you the amount of joy and love I’ve experienced in eastern Kentucky. It’s so hard to go home and try to explain to friends and family what I do and the people I serve. Words can’t describe my experience here–and I’ve come close many times to describing what I’ve discovered here in the mountains–but truly no one will ever get the full effect unless they experience it themselves. My first year with CAP was filled with many new friendships, growth in my faith and many new skills. A lot of people kind of look at you funny when you tell them you are going to go volunteer for a year, and yes, you aren’t getting paid, especially after you’ve spent four years getting a degree in which after you graduate you’re supposed to get that great job and make lots of money. Well, this is what most of society thinks you should do and it’s what I thought I was supposed to do until I came to CAP for WorkFest and God opened my eyes. And I’ll tell you this–if I was able to go back in time and change my decision I wouldn’t think twice about coming to CAP again. Volunteering for a year has allowed me to explore who I am and to develop my faith as well as many friendships that I would have never made if I stayed in Connecticut and went straight to graduate school. I think about that a lot; how there are so many people that I’ve met here in Kentucky that I’ve developed such great friendships with, whether they be my housemates, a participant, my crew leader or other CAP volunteers. And honestly, I’ve realized what is really important in life. I used to want the big job with the big house and the nice cars, and I’ve realized those things aren’t necessary and the relationships in your life are really what make life worth living. God put these people in my life for a reason and they have taught me so much and I value my relationships with others a lot more especially my relationship with God. I knew God when I first came to CAP, but he was kind of one of those friends you only call up when you have a problem.

So when I was home these last two weeks I really enjoyed my time with my friends and family. For the most part I hadn’t seen  them since Christmas, which is probably the longest I’ve ever gone without seeing them. Not only do I appreciate my family and friends more, but I also really enjoy my time with them now since I don’t see them that often. While I was home I probably ate ice cream at least once every day, stocked up on my Dunkin Donuts iced coffee and I was even put to work since I now have all these new skills my parents decided to put them to work. So some of my vacation was spent painting a fence that seemed to go on for miles, but when when I was working I truly enjoyed just being HOME. But after these two weeks at home I was ready to come back to Kentucky and to see my housemates because I did miss them like crazy.

So now when people ask what I’m doing and I say I’m volunteering for a second year in Kentucky , you can imagine the looks I get, but I wouldn’t want to do anything else at this moment and honestly living a simple life with little money is so much easier than having a job with lots of income because you kind of lose sight of what’s important in life.

Kate Stefanowicz is a long-term volunteer in Christian Appalachian Project’s Housing program. She lives in Floyd Volunteer house.

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At 62, I was floating along nicely making plans for our future retirement and deciding where we were going to live and what wonderful sights we were going to visit.  Then God intervened and said to my wife “come home.”  Here I was, a professing Christian, left with a hole the size of the Grand Canyon in my heart and all of my plans dashed on the rocks of despair.  That was when I came to know Jesus and start to follow His plan instead of mine.  His plan, revealed through a series of steps, was for me to come to Kentucky and offer my services even though I had never heard of Christian Appalachian Project.

Once here I was placed at Grateful Breadz and served there for a month.  Then came the flooding in Rockcastle county and I saw firsthand the physical, mental and spiritual devastation that a natural disaster can inflict on a person, a family and a region.

Two months later came the next disaster disaster, a flood in Pike County, and I watched in awe as my fellow volunteers worked tirelessly to get people back into their homes by doing the most arduous of tasks with a loving spirit and boundless energy.  They were totally selfless in their efforts and kind beyond words to the disaster survivors.

Disasters don’t care who you are or if you are prepared; therefore the response has to be timely.  We were on the ground surveying the damage within 24 hours and people started assessing homes, doing cleanouts and providing needed supplies within 36 hours.  The CAP-wide effort was herculean and included everyone from President Guy Adams to one of the short-term volunteers who spent as much time at the host church in Pikesville as she did in the volunteer house during her volunteer time.

The response has to be compassionate.  The volunteers have to show the love of Christ to devastated people who need to tell their story.  Sometimes this is a simple as stopping and hearing the history of a piece that has to be discarded and sometimes this can be hearing a tirade against the world or the volunteer.  We are there to start the process of healing, bring hope to the families and let them know that someone cares enough help and listen.  I feel privileged to have become a full-time volunteer in the disaster relief program and pray that I can be the hands and feet of God to those in trouble.

Carl Ford is a long-term volunteer who started with Grateful Breadz Food pantry and now serves full-time in the Disaster Relief program. He lives in Mt. Vernon Volunteer House.

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Steve Laudenslager (December 1, 1964-July 19, 2010)

Steve Laudenslager, a former CAP volunteer and employee, passed away in July after a sudden illness. He was 45.

Steve first came to CAP and the Jackson House as a long-term volunteer in 1998, serving in Housing and then later as a volunteer host for groups. He eventually became employed at CAP as a Volunteer Life Coordinator, overseeing volunteers in several houses.

Steve left CAP in 2002, but was back in 2004 as a short-term volunteer at WorkFest. The Kentucky bug bit again, and Steve ended up staying in Kentucky after WorkFest, working as the Group Host until 2007. In March 2010, CAP was blessed to have Steve serve with us again in the Groups program. He ended his volunteer time in July, just two weeks before his death.

When Steve wasn’t serving eastern Kentucky, he was giving of himself to his other passion, his ministry in Texas and Mexico. Steve lived in the border town of Edinburg, Texas, and from 1994 until his death periodically served at a church in Texas and a sister church in Mexico. An ordained minister, Steve preached through an interpreter, and over the years taught Sunday school and participated in building programs and other outreach in Mexico. Steve had been in Texas and away from CAP for three years when he returned to WorkFest in March, but it didn’t take long for him to fit right back in like he’d never left.

He came to help out at Camp AJ, but Steve ended up filling in as an assistant crew leader at WorkFest when another volunteer became ill.

For so many people, Steve represented everything Christian Appalachian Project aspires to be. For many who came to know Steve through the Groups program, he literally was the face of CAP, and we couldn’t have had a better representative. For the many generations of volunteers who knew Steve as a housemate, fellow volunteer, or employee, Steve provided an unparalleled example of humble servitude. Whether he was in the kitchen or out on the jobsite, Steve would do whatever was needed. No matter what you asked of him, you could be assured he would respond with a “Not a problem, ma’am,” or “Don’t worry about it, sir.” Christ was the center of Steve’s life, which was obvious to anyone who knew him.

Steve’s church family in Texas celebrated his life with a funeral in Edinburg, and members of his CAP family gathered at St. Paul’s in McKee for a memorial service. We invite you to share your memories of Steve below. Steve is survived by an aunt in Pennsylvania, and we will send these messages to her.

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“I’ve never seen anything like this.” This was probably the most used sentence over the past two weeks in Pike County. The amount of damage that this flood did was unbelievable. I’ve never responded to a flood clean up before and this certainly was an eye opening experience. Many homes were just washed away, trailers were floating down the road like boats on a river. There were also numerous houses that were moved off their foundations. Many of the survivors that we helped out were just happy to be alive and grateful to have any help that we could offer. The first house we got to clean out was the home of a young couple with two little girls and probably the most heartbreaking thing I heard was when the dad picked up a baby doll that was soaked and covered in mud and all he said was “this is what hurts me.” This flood came so quickly that many people were lucky to just get out of their homes, let alone think about trying to save any personal items. One woman we spoke to said she just went out to dinner and when she came home there was water everywhere and she was gone maybe an hour. But just as quickly as the water rose it went down just as fast.

A lot of the clean up that CAP’s Disaster Relief did was removing mud from the homes, removing drywall and any damaged floors or carpet. In the two weeks that I was at Disaster Relief our crew worked on about 8 different homes, some houses we spent a few days at cleaning up while others were just a couple of hours. It has definitely been a tiring two weeks, but the gratitude we received from the homeowners definitely outweighed the long days. CAP wrapped up its efforts on Saturday, but there is a lot more work to be done and they are hoping to return in the next few months to do some more cleanup. So please keep Pike County in your prayers and thoughts.

Kate Stefanowicz is a long-term volunteer in CAP’s Housing Program. You can see more of her Disaster Relief photos here.

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“This is where God wants me.”

The words of long-term volunteer Katie Hynds, 20, have been echoed by thousands of volunteers throughout the history of Christian Appalachian Project’s Volunteer Program, and in its largest summer orientation in recent memory, CAP commissioned 18 new volunteers who received and answered the call to serve in Appalachia.

Because CAP has rolling admissions and three orientations per year, some of the “new” volunteers at the July orientation have actually been serving for several months. Maureen Black, a former customer service supervisor from Wisconsin, has been with CAP since the end of May. In her position at Camp Andrew Jackson in Educational and Recreational Programming, she is currently helping run several summer day camps and will teach in the public schools this fall. Although Maureen was already in the swing of things at Camp AJ, orientation gave her a chance to reflect on why she chose to commit a year to serving Appalachia.

“My life is in transition,” Maureen says, “and this is a huge step outside my comfort zone.” Because her children are now grown and her health is good, Maureen thought now was the perfect time to make the leap of faith out of her comfort zone and into the hills of Appalachia. “I am volunteering with CAP because I hope to grow,” she says. “I have a heart for service and CAP has made [volunteering] possible.”

(l-r) Jordan, Sarah and Maureen light candles symbolizing their commitment to Appalachia

Jordan Spiegle, 26, also left a job  in Pennsylvania to commit a year to CAP repairing homes for the elderly. Jordan is quite familiar with construction, although his expertise is in timber-framing. “It’s an ancient style of construction where buildings are made of large timbers and wooden pegs are usually employed instead of nails or screws,” Jordan says. Though this style of building is much more prevalent in German settled areas than In Appalachia, Jordan’s appreciation for old-world craftsmanship may explain his attraction to Appalachia, a region steeped in tradition. “I’m really looking forward to being immersed in this amazing Appalachian culture,” Jordan says. In addition to taking in the culture, Jordan hopes to grow spiritually during his time with CAP. “I’d like to try and discern if God wanted to take me in a different direction in my life than the path I had figured out for myself.”

Unlike Maureen and Jordan, Sarah Eisenberg is one of three volunteers from July orientation joining CAP fresh from college graduation. A Georgetown College graduate, Sarah participated in WorkFest during college and fell in love with CAP’s work. Sarah says she looks forward to the “nitty-gritty side” of CAP, and the “everyday life of working for a non-profit. As one interested in nonprofit administration, knowing the heart behind an organization is important to me.” Sarah volunteers in the Grateful Threadz thrift store and will also be with CAP for twelve months.

Katie, Maureen, Jordan and Sarah are just four of the diverse new volunteers welcomed to CAP in July. To read more about them and all of CAP’s long-term volunteers, check out our Meet Our Volunteers page.  

See more photos from Commissioning

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Christian Appalachian Project offers a large variety of volunteer opportunities for people who desire to serve in eastern Kentucky. Our programs include: housing, elderly housing, child development, GED education, respite, family advocacy, elderly and summer camps.

For some people, making the final decision on which of  the available programs they will serve is easy. To others, it takes a hefty amount of prayer and contemplation. I was more in the prayer and contemplation end. On one hand, I wanted to visit the elderly in their homes and have the opportunity to serve them in their own environment. I also wanted to work with the children and families in the area as well.

Eventually, I finally chose to serve in the child and family development center and started working with children ranging from one to four years old. After six months of service, CAP allowed me to work in a new area. I then spent five weeks as a camp counselor at a summer program called Camp Shawnee.

Once you choose a specific program, the excitement is contagious. You start thinking about all of the things you can do for your program, and how you want to fully spend your time of service while in the region. This can lead to many other opportunities with CAP as well.

If something in your heart is becoming interested in learning more about serving in Appalachia, don’t wait. Act now. You can make a huge difference both in the lives of others and yourself by donating your time to Christian Appalachian Project.

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There have been a lot of changes going on within CAP and the volunteer house lately. One of the big ones is theexpansion of the Floyd Volunteer House. Right now the volunteers at Floyd just live in the downstairs part of the house and the upstairs is used for another mission organization to hold their groups in the summer. CAP can now use the entire house, so within the next couple months our house is going from 6 volunteers to 16 volunteers, with even a couple who is going to stay in their trailer outside of our house. So it will be a big change especially since  when I first came to Floyd house there was a total of 5 of us and the most we have ever had in our house since I’ve been here is about 10. Therefore this will be a new and exciting experience for me and my housemates. But it is a very good change because it means that so many more people are wanting to commit to volunteering long term at CAP, which is an awesome thing!

Also this past weekend my housemate Rachel left to return home since her year of service was up. It’s very different now that she is gone considering she was one of the few left that was here when I first arrived at Floyd House. Also we worked together in Housing on a daily basis and basically got to learn construction skills together as well. She will definitely be missed at the Floyd House because she did provide many laughs at the house as well as on the job site. She also contributed greatly to the spiritual aspect of our community as well as some good practical jokes.

As for this week we are getting ready to head to disaster relief in Pike County, Kentucky. There was a flood recently and a lot of damage to one particular area in Pike County. So this week the whole Housing Program from the Sandy Valley Region is going to help out with cleaning up houses. There are also many other volunteers from this region and the Cumberland Valley who will be helping with the clean up. So look for updates in next week’s blog on the progress of the clean up. And also keep the families of Pike County in your prayers, as many of them have lost their homes or have had severe damage to them.

May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with you. 11 Thessalonians 3:16

Kate Stefanowicz is a long-term volunteer in CAP’s Housing Program.

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After weeks of hearing me talk about them incessantly, a friend came with me to visit Earl and Sarah. Their place really looks fantastic; a church group from Ohio came down for YouthFest and we were able to do a huge clean-up in the yard and paint the trailer. The results were remarkable, and Earl, Sarah and their family were thrilled with them. And I was thrilled to have been able to help them to obtain something that they wanted so badly.

My friend is a great story-teller, and I couldn’t wait for him to get to talk to Earl. Entering their home is always such a treat for me, and I was eager to share the experience with a member of my Jackson House family. Anything that’s worrying me outside their door melts away with Sarah’s bear hug and Earl’s kiss on the cheek, and I settle myself in for a visit filled with genuine warmth and hospitality. On this particular day, their son, Marshall, was over. He was freshly home from the hospital after nearly dying; he’d had a heart attack, and if his brother hadn’t found him in time, he wouldn’t have been with us that day. He filled me in on the details of his near-death experience. Forty-five years old, Marshall had almost a child-like quality about him. Despite his goatee and buzzed white-blonde hair, his perfectly round eyes and earnest manner in recounting the story reminded me of a kid trying to explain his way out of a broken window, baseball bat in hand.

We stayed for about an hour; Earl could have easily talked to my friend about his truck-driving days all afternoon, but we had a few more stops to make before night fell. Earl and Sarah gave both of us big hugs, asked us to come again soon, and walked outside to bid us farewell. As we were pulling away, I saw Marshall with a cigarette in his mouth. “Marshall,” I yelled out the window with a grin. “You just had heart surgery, dude. You gotta quit those things. They’ll kill you.” He smiled sheepishly, saying, “I know, I know.”

A week and a half later, I attended Marshall’s wake.

He was clothed in a white, polo shirt. His casket was very simple, with artificial flowers adorning the foot of it.

I received word that Marshall had passed late in the afternoon when Sarah called Family Advocacy – she’d apparently misplaced my number – and asked them to pass the message along, saying that she really wanted me to be at the viewing. I pulled into the funeral home’s parking lot, and was greeted with the sight of a huge group of people standing around outside the building. I walked toward the crowd, and spotted Sarah at about the same time she saw me. I saw her draw in a sharp breath, and she began to elbow her way out of the middle of her guests.

“There you are! I was afraid you wouldn’t get here!” She finally got to me and threw her arms around my neck.
“I’m so sorry, Sarah,” I spoke into her gray hair.
“Thank you, baby. He ain’t sufferin’ no more,” she replied, looking up with sad eyes. “Let me introduce you to the rest of my family.”

She took me around the parking lot, and I shook hands with the children I hadn’t yet met. Then she brought me inside to see Earl.

He was sitting against the wall, staring at the floor in front of him blankly. I’d only ever seen his eyes when they snapped with a bright blue flame in conjunction with a witty remark. Or when they endeavored – unsuccessfully – to hold back a sparkle under his hawkish white eyebrows in anticipation of a good story. Now, they were torn by an immeasurable pain that dwelled deep within them. It was as if I could see his broken heart through those eyes, and they caused my heart to break, too. He saw me, stood up, and hugged me. I told him how sorry I was, and his response was to ask about my friend, to say that he thought the world of him, and to tell me how much he and Sarah loved me. Even at his lowest point, Earl took it upon himself to teach me about love.

Once inside the temporarily empty chapel area, I spent a few moments with Marshall and said a prayer for him and his family before the parking lot crowd began to make its way inside. While I was still at the front of the room, Sarah came in and slipped her arm around my waist. And that’s where she kept it as people began to filter into the room. At first, I was a little uncomfortable; I figured that her family would want to be next to the casket with her, and that I had no business standing there as she greeted the mourners. On the contrary, though, as each person came up to pay their respects, Sarah would hug them with her left arm – her right arm still firmly around me – and would say, “This is the CAP lady who painted my trailer. She’s my baby.” In between guests, she would rest her head on my shoulder, hold me close to her, and murmur all of her “why” questions into my sweater.

Earl came in to check on Sarah at one point, and he put his arm around her, holding onto my wrist which was resting on her shoulder. The three of us stood there in a familial embrace, the two of them exchanging looks full of hurt and worry for one another, and my heart threatening to burst at having the privilege of once again bearing witness to their simple and overwhelmingly authentic love story.

As the evening wore on, I came to understand that my role there wasn’t “transient volunteer.” It wasn’t even “CAP lady.” For some beautiful reason that continues to be beyond my understanding, Earl and Sarah had made me a part of their family. I didn’t have to ask for it, and I didn’t even know it was happening until I was already in love with them. They allowed their broken hearts to expand to include me. And for that, I consider myself to be incredibly blessed.

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

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These last few days in eastern Kentucky have been sweltering. I never knew how hard it was to work outside in 95 degree weather with humidity making it feel like 110 degrees. It’s been hard to get myself motivated in this weather because I feel like the sun just drains me of all energy. Luckily I’ve been able to push through and keep reminding myself of why I’m here and lots of water helps as well. This past week we went back to one of WorkFest jobs to try and wrap that up because it is very close to being finished. And this week we also have a group from Michigan and they are all very skilled and quick learners which is making the work go a lot faster. So far all we have left is some painting, trim work and a few minor repairs in the floor and ceiling. It will be great to see the project finally finished but I will also miss the company of our participant and her daughter. They are a great family and are very appreciative of the work that CAP is doing on their trailer. One of our major projects this week was to get an air conditioner in their trailer and we finally got it in by the end of today, so they were delighted.

As for life outside of Housing, the volunteer houses are going through lots of changes with many volunteers leaving and many new ones coming in. This is all very exciting and sad all at the same time because most of the people that are leaving now have been here since I got here almost a year ago, so I’ve definitely gotten to know them pretty well. So as a going away trip before one of my housemates leaves in a couple of weeks, we took a trip down to Cumberland Falls to see the moonbow. Cumberland Falls is down in McCreary County and the moonbow only happens when there is a full moon out. Unfortunately the night we went was a little hazy so it was hard to see the moonbow, but we did see a little bit of it. It was also a great drive down to McCreary because everything is so green and in bloom and it’s just a really nice area. Below are some pictures I took at the Falls.

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

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