Our Roanoke Trip, Spring 2011

The photo on the left is our first week's crew. Our total team was comprised of: Seth, Ted, JoEllen and Tom, Joanne, Dave, Peg and Ron, Claude, George, Marsha and Barry, Don, Peter, Debbie and Eric. In the parking lot of Campbell Memorial Presbyterian Church we had an RV, an A-Liner camper and Johnny's Camper/Van. Inside various rooms were full of air mattresses, sleeping bags and assorted other gear.

We worked with Habitat for Humanity in the Roanoke Valley. They have their offices, Re-Store, equipment and supplies in a four-story building near center city Roanoke. This is truly an exceptionally organized and well-run affiliate, staffed with not only talented and competent but committed Habitat people. They were a joy to work for. HFHRV has been averaging 9-12 houses a year for the last several years and have already house 167 families.

Our NYS-fits+ team worked on their latest home, 1311 Salem Avenue in the Hurt Park area of the city, where Habitat has been given 11 homes to rehab. This residence will become home to a 10-member family from Burundi, several of whom we met on the Saturday between our two weeks.

The challenge we faced was to make the necessary structural repairs so that the wiring, plumbing and sheet rocking could begin. To that end we mixed and poured a cement pad in the basement for one of several new piers, strengthened and braced beams and joists on each ceiling prior to jacking up, supporting and leveling all three floors, added new headers and re-framed all the windows, removed and replaced a porch floor and walls, made changes in the attic for additional head-room near the three dormers and erected knee-walls around the dormers and roof to facilitate the conversion of attic to three rooms. For two weeks in teams of twos and threes we nailed, screwed, hammered and "sawz-alled" our way around the house. Usually we worked alone, but on Wednesdays we shared the prep work with teams of local volunteers from the "Home Builders" association.

We showered daily at the local YMCA on our way home. This new "Y" had plenty of parking but more importantly gallons upon gallons of hot water -- almost as refreshing as the daily beer.

New Spring Project: Roanoke Habitat for Humanity

Because Greater Charlottesville Habitat had an opportunity to become an even "greener" project, they were experiencing delays in obtaining necessary permits, and they could not guarantee that we would be able to help with construction on our agreed upon dates. So now we are going to Roanoke, VA, and working the same weeks for the local Habitat for Humanity project there -- March 28th to April 1st; April 4th - 8th.

Our hosts will be the Campbell Memorial Presbyterian Church, 1130 Church Road, Vinton, VA, 24179 (just east of Roanoke). Their new minister, Rev. James (Jamie) Smith has been on the job about three weeks. Church phone: (540) 343-1842.

Roanoke YMCA will be providing a place for showering, 520 Church Avenue South West Roanoke, 24016. There will be a small cost to non-YMCA members, but they do provide towels. The YMCA phone: (540) 342-9622.

George and Joanne will be back in the kitchen, and we will be assessing ourselves the usual $50 a week for food. We are expecting great things from them, because they will be working in a fairly new kitchen. Please send JoEllen your food money as soon as you can.

Charlottesville, VA, Spring 2011

In late March and early April, we will be going to Charlottesville, VA, to assist a local Habitat for Humanity project as they begin a new 20+ house adventure called "Sunrise Park."

Because the cost of land has risen dramatically and the need for affordable housing is so great, this Habitat affiliate will be creating something entirely new in our country. The plan, already approved by the City, is to create from a low income mobile park a new vibrant, mixed-income community with a higher density, near jobs and public transportation and with greener buildings which will be affordable over the long run for families and better for the environment.

Greater Charlottesville Habitat has just completed the construction of 34 homes in 5 years and will be beginning their new $11.6 million Sunrise Park on February 1st. In addition, no one currently living in the trailer park will be excluded or left homeless with this new construction.

Corinth Project

We are planning to attach a room on the right hand side of this trailer in Corinth. The family cares for four under ten-year-old foster children and needs another bedroom. Our schedule calls to work on the foundation in mid-May and then to erect the room beginning on the 14th of June. Many more details will follow as the pieces start to fit into place. We hope that this is the kind of local endeavor that you would like to enable to succeed with whatever support you can offer.

Fall Mission Trip 2010

We plan to return to NOLA on Saturday, October 24th, and two weeks, leaving on Saturday, November 6th. Once again we will stay in Grace Lutheran on Canal Boulevard. This is a friendly congregation, committed to the rebuilding of the city, but the most important element is that George likes their kitchen!

Before then, we hope to assist a family in the Corinth area of NY after the warmer weather arrives and we can get a foundation in and ready to erect a room on top of it. We will let you know more about this as information becomes available.

Friday, March 26th

For all of this week our 19 were supplemented by several from the conference center staff: Gale and Margaret, the caretakers; Janet, the director; and Jean, an intern.

On this day further work in the Center itself, removing and replacing the sliding glass door at the handicapped entrance, and making repairs to the exterior siding and gutters, was completed Three days. Edd, Seth and Keith did this.

Repairs were also made on the residence ceiling to restore the sheetrock that had fallen when it became water-soaked. With ladders and boards stretched across the stair opening, Dave W., Roland, Tom, Eric and Ron somehow all found space to work in this narrow area.

Thursday's Race Against Rain

On Thursday we were promised rain – first by 8 in the evening, then in the middle of the afternoon. We were really under the gun, because the roof on the residence and on Jacob’s Well both only had tar paper down. Breakfast was served at 6:30, work began at 7, and, though we took breaks, the day didn’t end until well after 5.

Atop Jacob’s Well lodge -- Dave W., Glenn, Ted, Eric, Albert, Debbie, Gale and Jean -- the old soffits were removed, rafter extensions replaced as needed on the roof overhangs and sheathing repaired, all this after the roof was stripped of its three layers of shingles and paper.

In the large living room on the inside of Jacob’s Well, Dave M., Peg, Ted, Rose Ann and Margaret, caulked and sheetrocked and then paneled the ceiling with tongue and groove knotty pine. This sounds relatively simple, but first they put on two additional coats of finish on the T&G boards, find a dry place to store them while the other work was done, and then finally nail them in place, so that the joints and nail holes were virtually invisible.