A Day in Appalachia

"Every day I woke up energized and excited to start the day. Each day I learned something new. It is about building relationships with the students in the group, as well as the residents in the community." -Devika Sarin '08

There really is no typical day in Appalachia or the Gulf Coast- it all depends on the particular site's needs. A few examples easily demonstrate the variety of volunteer work that takes place:

At Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Kentucky, volunteers might be engaged in a variety of work tasks including small home repair, assisting with an outreach reading program for pre-school children, helping in the clothing store and visiting people in the area.

Another popular site is Narrows, a small town located in southwest Virginia. In the past, student volunteers helped the town in the development of Camp Success Park. Working with people from the town, students helped construct a small footbridge, paint park benches, clear brush, install signs and spruce up flowerbeds and playground equipment.

Cape Charles is a small community in Northampton County on the eastern shore of Virginia. In Cape Charles an organization, the Concerned Citizens of Cape Charles, was formed to meet the needs of the low-income and elderly citizens in the town who live in deteriorating housing. Cape Charles is a historic town with many sites of interest and its community has decided to paint, rehabilitate and clean up every needed house in Cape Charles, block by block!

In the gulf region, students performed demolition work. They also rebuilt homes- put up walls, installed floors, and even painted.