HUNTINGTON, WV (WOWK) – This week, 300 volunteers have come from as far north as Massachusetts and as far south as Georgia to Huntington, West Virginia to help repair 23 homes.
The volunteers, in partnership with the faith-based World Changers International Church, are helping repair roofs, paint homes, build fences, and bring homes back up to code with absolutely no charge to the homeowners.
For some, like Huntington resident Laura Rowden, these repairs bring much-needed relief.
“It’s been a wonderful week. I’ve had these wonderful people come from all over and they are replacing my roof, which is something I couldn’t have done on my own. It’s been a total blessing,” said Rowden.
These teens aren’t just repairing roofs, spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ is also one of their major missions, according to North Carolina-based volunteer Hannah Evington.
“My church has been doing World Changers for years, this is my 8th time doing World Changers. Our mission is to spread the love of Jesus while we’re working on the houses. Mainly, our goal is to spread the gospel,” said Evington.
The World Changers group arrived in Huntington on Monday and immediately got to work. They’re being fed by local churches and housed at Huntington High School overnight. Their final day will be Friday when work on all 23 houses will be complete.
13 News spoke with a World Changers summer staff leader, Livie Holbrook, who said that helping out brings a lot of satisfaction.
“The most satisfying part of this job is the end product of each crew site. The crews get to start it at the very beginning of the week, then they get to look back and see all the hard work they put in and be able to see the finished product. Also, getting to meet the members of the community and being able to spread the love of Jesus with everybody,” said Holbrook.
Houses selected for repairs came from Huntington’s Project Shine program, where homeowners can apply to get free repairs to their damaged homes to bring them back up to code.