July 23, 2008
A church youth group called Acts Alive, from First Presbyterian Church in Lexington, N.C., came down to volunteer for one week on a project for an elderly blind man named Walter Collins.
Walter was not aware of how bad his home deteriorated until the night his roof caved in on him when he was sleeping. He was not aware of the fact that his roof was even leaking nor did he realize that he was living in substandard conditions.
The Presbyterian Churches put out a publication that lists information on different mission opportunities in various cities. The Acts Alive youth group choose Jacksonville as their mission trip. Riverside Presbyterian Church housed and fed all of the volunteers who traveled to Jacksonville to help Walter Collins.
"Every summer we go off for one week and perform construction services through different organizations. Builders Care arranged work for us that was meaningful to all involved," said Robin Team, church member and past youth leader.
Team mentioned that their youth group is very self-sufficient when it comes to completing construction tasks. "We were very impressed with Builders Care and deeply respect the work they do for their community," he said.
Cambridge Cunningham, 18, said she always feels like she can do anything after completely renovating a home for someone in need.
Not only did they perform all the work themselves, the Acts Alive youth group also paid for all construction material costs. They bought new tile for the home, plywood, sheet rock, construction tools, paint and cleaning supplies.
"It's always good to help out the people that can't help themselves. It is so important to give back, no matter how you do it," said 18-year-old Zach White.
The youth group spent the week cleaning floors, re-roofing the house, replacing rotten wood, putting up sheet rock, and painting the entire home. They arrived on Sunday, July 22 and worked until Friday July 25.
"Just knowing you're helping someone in need, makes all the difference in the world," said 18-year-old Katie Calvert.
Written by Dalia Mousa, dmousa@builderscare.org
Link to Media Coverage - Look for "News4Jax.com" - July 23, 2008
