Post by BrianSullivan on Jul 17, 2010 14:44:52 GMT -5
www.app.com/article/20100716/NEWS/7160358/Volunteers-give-people-a-hand-with-much-needed-home-repair
Next Page1| 2Previous PageFREEHOLD — Borough firefighter Billy Anderson has always been one of the first to offer a helping hand to those in need.
"He serves Freehold, and he has for years, selflessly," said Mark Davis, pastor of West Monmouth Baptist Church in Freehold Township.
So when Anderson was diagnosed with throat and neck cancer last year, his community was quick to return the favor.
Anderson, 46, is one of more than 20 area homeowners receiving needed house repairs this week from the World Changers, a Baptist ministry that annually sends thousands of young volunteers to locations around the world.
Approximately 310 teenage, college-age and adult volunteers have spent this week working at 28 sites in Freehold, Neptune, Fair Haven and Asbury Park. They are doing everything from outside home painting to roofing and porch replacements. They have also made improvements at sites owned by Neptune and the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, a little thank-you for the hospitality officials there have shown them, said Davis, who has helped coordinate the World Changers' efforts locally.
For Anderson, a World Changers crew has been hard at work painting his family's South Street home a pale blue.
"This looks so much better than I ever expected it to," Anderson said Thursday. "I'm thrilled and so grateful for what they've done."
This is the World Changers' third year in Monmouth County. Each year volunteers, who pay an average of $250 for the trip, have stayed at Neptune High School while they worked on projects in Neptune and Freehold. Fair Haven and Asbury Park are new locations, Davis said.
"The overall experience is great," said Paul Dematatis, 22, of Silver Springs, Md. Dematatis has been working on World Changers projects since he was in high school.
What keeps him coming back year after year, said Dematatis, is "Getting to see the homeowners' satisfaction and the joy they get . . . And just the chance to show Christ's love through service is a great opportunity."
Dematatis has spent the week painting Freehold resident Anna Gaj's house a bright avocado green.
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Gaj, 87, said she used to handle the house painting herself. But the Ukrainian native, who has lived in her Otterson Road home since 1954, suffers from arthritis thanks to her years in a World War II German work camp. Her son had warned her, she said, that it was no longer safe for her to paint her home.
"It's a good thing they (the World Changers' crew) came here . . . That's big, big help," Gaj said Thursday.
World Changers representatives pick projects from a pool of applicants requesting assistance. Project choices are based on the applicant's income, and what can be done reasonably and safely, Davis said. (Davis applied on Anderson's behalf.)
World Changers has had assistance this week from the municipalities served as well as local businesses and groups, from bed linens donated by Jersey Shore University Medical Center to lunches catered by Freehold restaurants. Work materials and funding were provided by the municipality of Neptune and various local businesses, including T&K Contractors, 111 South Contractors and Tee Construction. The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association had also offered up their beach for a party, which was rained out.
Freehold Councilman Kevin Kane, the council's liasion to the Neighborhood Pride Committee, was involved in the borough effort. Kane had high praise for the volunteers. That Freehold residents could benefit from their generosity, he said, is "great."
"It's just a tremendous win-win," said Kane.
Next Page1| 2Previous PageFREEHOLD — Borough firefighter Billy Anderson has always been one of the first to offer a helping hand to those in need.
"He serves Freehold, and he has for years, selflessly," said Mark Davis, pastor of West Monmouth Baptist Church in Freehold Township.
So when Anderson was diagnosed with throat and neck cancer last year, his community was quick to return the favor.
Anderson, 46, is one of more than 20 area homeowners receiving needed house repairs this week from the World Changers, a Baptist ministry that annually sends thousands of young volunteers to locations around the world.
Approximately 310 teenage, college-age and adult volunteers have spent this week working at 28 sites in Freehold, Neptune, Fair Haven and Asbury Park. They are doing everything from outside home painting to roofing and porch replacements. They have also made improvements at sites owned by Neptune and the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, a little thank-you for the hospitality officials there have shown them, said Davis, who has helped coordinate the World Changers' efforts locally.
For Anderson, a World Changers crew has been hard at work painting his family's South Street home a pale blue.
"This looks so much better than I ever expected it to," Anderson said Thursday. "I'm thrilled and so grateful for what they've done."
This is the World Changers' third year in Monmouth County. Each year volunteers, who pay an average of $250 for the trip, have stayed at Neptune High School while they worked on projects in Neptune and Freehold. Fair Haven and Asbury Park are new locations, Davis said.
"The overall experience is great," said Paul Dematatis, 22, of Silver Springs, Md. Dematatis has been working on World Changers projects since he was in high school.
What keeps him coming back year after year, said Dematatis, is "Getting to see the homeowners' satisfaction and the joy they get . . . And just the chance to show Christ's love through service is a great opportunity."
Dematatis has spent the week painting Freehold resident Anna Gaj's house a bright avocado green.
(2 of 2)
Gaj, 87, said she used to handle the house painting herself. But the Ukrainian native, who has lived in her Otterson Road home since 1954, suffers from arthritis thanks to her years in a World War II German work camp. Her son had warned her, she said, that it was no longer safe for her to paint her home.
"It's a good thing they (the World Changers' crew) came here . . . That's big, big help," Gaj said Thursday.
World Changers representatives pick projects from a pool of applicants requesting assistance. Project choices are based on the applicant's income, and what can be done reasonably and safely, Davis said. (Davis applied on Anderson's behalf.)
World Changers has had assistance this week from the municipalities served as well as local businesses and groups, from bed linens donated by Jersey Shore University Medical Center to lunches catered by Freehold restaurants. Work materials and funding were provided by the municipality of Neptune and various local businesses, including T&K Contractors, 111 South Contractors and Tee Construction. The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association had also offered up their beach for a party, which was rained out.
Freehold Councilman Kevin Kane, the council's liasion to the Neighborhood Pride Committee, was involved in the borough effort. Kane had high praise for the volunteers. That Freehold residents could benefit from their generosity, he said, is "great."
"It's just a tremendous win-win," said Kane.