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For the past 16 years, groups of young people and adults from Presbyterian churches in upstate New York have been coming to the Cape Region on a pilgrimage.
The trip has been made each summer to help those in need of home repairs as part of the Emergency Home Repair Project of the First State Resource Conservation and Development Council.
During the past week, the group of more than 70 volunteers hammered thousands of nails as they replaced old roofs, and repaired floors, windows and doors on 10 homes in need of repair in the area.
The group was composed of 57 young people ages 14 to 18 and 20 adults from 12 churches in the Presbytery of Utica, N.Y., and nine young people and two adults from Old Greenwich Presbyterian Church in New Jersey.
The group put in long days Monday through Thursday in an effort to get all of the repairs completed so Friday could be set aside to allow time to enjoy the beach. They camped out at Lewes Presbyterian Church during the week.
But, that’s not always the case, and work sometimes spills over into Friday. Getting the jobs done is the first priority, said Bill Butler, a painter and roofer who has been making the trip for the past five years.
“The first time I came I was hooked,” he said. “It’s all about the way these kids can touch your heart.”
Last year, the Utica Presbytery was honored with the President’s Volunteer Service Award for 15 years of volunteer work. During that time period, volunteers put in more than 14,000 hours to repair 143 homes in Sussex County.
Butler said most the groundwork was done before they arrived by staffers from the resource and development program. Home owners needing repairs, usually those who are disabled or elderly, were pre-screened and materials were ordered and delivered to the job sites.
Each young person participating in the program was responsible for collecting $150 in donations to help cover travel costs. Other partners in the project include Southeast Sussex Ministerium, Lewes Presbyterian Church, Senior Employment Program, Delaware State Housing Authority and Sussex County Council.
Butler said there is much more going on than home repairs. He got choked up when he recalled one incident when an older lady who they were doing roof work for brought out a cooler filled with water and sodas during a day where the heat index was topping 100 degrees. “She said that she wished she could do more,” he said.
It’s also mission work that he hopes makes an impression not only on the young people in the program, but also on those who are receiving the home repairs.
“We want people out there to know there are people who care,” he said. “There are people who still believe in God and want to spread the word.”
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