Continuing their 12 year tradition, St. Joseph Parish in Mantua once again sent a group of volunteers to St. Joseph’s in Clintwood, Virginia, to take part in Sister Jean Korkisch’s Housing Repair Program the last week of June. Helping low-income residents maintain decent housing for their families, the program has groups work on housing repair jobs both inside and out.
Appalachian Experience 2010 began Saturday, June 19, with participants George, Kathi, James & Jeff Trares making the 400 mile journey south. Shortly after arrival at the Dorothy Baker House (house next to the church where volunteers stay) the family was welcomed by program workers, attended Mass, and then had dinner. After some grocery shopping, the foursome settled in. Sunday’s activities included hiking, a picnic lunch, and paddle boats at Break’s Inter-State Park and then welcoming remaining participants Mike Shilling and Jay D’Aurelio upon their arrival in the afternoon.
Working on the home of Crystal in the nearby town of Clincho, along with program helpers Debbie, Leanne, and Brandi, the group accomplished quite a bit. A small group also finished up at previous week’s home in Clintwood the first work day with window frame painting, staining stairs, covering hole in the attic, and putting up storm windows. Crystal’s double-wide trailer, which she shared with her brother, Danny, needed soft spots in the living room and kitchen floors replaced and some reinforcement. The kitchen and living room floors then received new luan and stick-on tiles. A lot of painting and caulking was done in the bathroom, living room, hallway, kitchen, and trim. Sealer coating was applied to the roof, down spouting was installed, and wood siding was added to outside areas that were deteriorating. The bathroom received repairs to the shower and window, the vanity, sink, and toilet were installed, and the newly painted door was hung. A new outside door was put in and the outer doorway area was repaired and reinforced in preparation for new steps. Finishing touches for the week included blinds being installed in the living room along with a mirror in the bedroom, new bedding, and moving in a donated couch and chair.
Not only do volunteers do some hard--but--rewarding work, meet new people, and learn new things, but cultural events, local sight-seeing, and discussions around Appalachian issues are also a part of the experience. On Tuesday evening, volunteers enjoyed a picnic hosted by parishioners in the church hall. Unfortunately, the traditional entertainment from Ken Childress and fellow musician Jim Mullins could not happen due to Ken falling and breaking his hip just prior to the group’s arrival. A visit to the 4th World Movement Co-Op Learning Center was on Wednesday’s agenda, with participants viewing a video and speaker about Tapori, a group focused on children and their families in the struggle against poverty and social exclusion around the world. A human commitment to ending poverty and exclusion, The Fourth World Movement is an international, non-governmental, anti-poverty organization with consultative status in the United Nations. The center hosts a variety of things to assist with employment opportunities, gaining new skills and confidence including computer classes, stress management sessions, quilting and weaving instruction, and other workshops. For more information, please visit www.4thworldmovement.org. Traveling to nearby Pound, Virginia on Thursday, the group enjoyed “Pickin’ in the Pound”, a bluegrass jam session held at the town hall. Finally, on Friday the volunteers thoroughly enjoyed Sr. Jean’s trip on a 10 mile windy and mostly gravel road to Birch Knob Observation Tower just north of Clintwood. At an elevation of 3,144 feet above sea level, the 183 stair climb to reach the top and staying until sunset was well worth the trek. Once the site of a fire tower, the view from a rock outcrop at the highest summit of Pine Mountain allows one to see Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and, on a clear day, Ohio.
Appalachian Experience participants genuinely feel a sense of accomplishment helping the truly needy of this area be safe, warm and dry. Not only did they work hard but they’ve acquired friendships and a camaraderie with those they worked for and with. High school teens and adults are welcome to join this outreach effort in future trips as we follow Jesus’ example and use our gifts to reach out to others! For more information, please visit www.stjosephmantua.com/appalachian.
