May 28, 2024
By: Dwayne Page
Need some minor fix up, cleanup projects done around your home?
The Smithville Church of Christ Work Camp may be able to help. This event is set for June 10-13. The work camp is an annual home rehabilitation and beautification effort organized by the Smithville Church of Christ. The church started the work camp 12 years ago as a means of helping less fortunate residents of the county.
“The week of June 10-13 is when we will have the work camp. We are doing this on behalf of the church. We are trying to show Christ’s love through this while promoting the Smithville Church of Christ but you don’t have to be a member of the church for us to help you,” said spokesperson Casey Midgett.
“All the application forms are out at the local banks. You can stop by any bank and pick up a form or you can go by our church location and get a form. Just get the forms back in by June 1,” said Midgett.
During the week of the work camp, members of the church load up on church vans and head to the homes of residents to perform a variety of tasks.
The work camp is primarily for those who own their homes and are in most need of help.
“Its based-on need but even If you have the means to do it and can’t because you’re too feeble we can help. The skilled crew will build handicapped ramps and help make light repairs to people’s houses that need it. The unskilled crew will go out and cut brush out of people’s yards, clean their gutters, pressure wash their houses and things like that,” said Midgett.
“Its for people who own their homes. We’re iffy about improving rental houses. If you own your home, you are eligible to talk to us about it. There are certain cases where we have done rental homes before but its very tough for us to do that,” Midgett explained.
“A lot of times people are reluctant to ask for help,” said spokesperson Chad Colwell. “People need to get past that. If you need assistance give us a call and we’ll look at it”.
Getting around to all those who apply sometimes depends on logistics.
“For example, if we get 80 applicants we may have to select. If we have more homes in a specific area its more feasible for us to get to those, than one house here or there. It’s a schedule that is ever changing. Sometimes when you are working on a yard there are unseen challenges that will extend your time. If you allot an hour to be there and it takes three hours then that’s a domino effect for the rest of the day,” said Colwell.
“We never give them a specific day when we will show up. We just say it will be June 10-13,” added Midgett.
The Smithville Work Camp concentrates its efforts in the Smithville-DeKalb County area. If you would like to have your home considered for the project, contact the church at 615-597-4159 by Saturday, June 1 to acquire an application and release form. The church is located at 520 Dry Creek Road, Smithville.