ASP brings new homes & hope to Johnson City flood victims

By Tim Norton, Chief Advancement Officer

When the heavens opened and the floodwaters rose in the Dry Creek community of Washington County/Johnson City, Tenn. last month, government and community leaders quickly recognized the impact of the devastation. But they didn’t stand by idly. They asked Appalachia Service Project (ASP)--just named just named the Tri-Cities’ “Most Popular Charity”--to consider helping to re-build and restore both homes and hope.

According to Dan Eldridge, Mayor of Washington County, Tenn., “The areas of our county hardest hit by this flooding impact many families without the means to repair or rebuild their homes. The people here are proud and aren’t looking for handouts, but they lack the resources to overcome this very difficult circumstance. Without insurance and with no Federal or State aid available, these families are completely reliant on the generosity of individuals and businesses to assist in rebuilding their homes.”

That’s why today, Appalachia Service Project (ASP) announces ‘New Build Washington County’, a project that will build new homes for up to one-third of the 139 families whose homes were destroyed or severely damaged.

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DOUBLE your gift right now

Thanks to one of our amazing summer youth volunteers ... You have a wonderful opportunity right now to DOUBLE your gift (up to $5,000)!

This is a different kind of match than anything we've offered before ... but I think you'll love it. You see, it is being offered by one of our summer youth volunteers who applied for a scholarship that challenged high schoolers to create and carry out a service project of their own design.

Dylan Johnson had already been coming to ASP for several years with his church (Aldersgate UMC in Urbandale, IA), so when he thought of service, he thought of ASP and came up with the "Tools for a Stronger Tomorrow" idea: an effort to collect tools, supplies and other donations to be used on work sites served by ASP.

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ASPSummer/Youth Program 2013 Opens for Registration

Just as ASP closes a very successful 2012 summer, we are opening registration for the 2013 Summer Program. ASP will operate 31 centers in five states (Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia) over seven weeks beginning June 9, 2013.

Summer 2013 Dates
Week 1 June 9, 2013
Week 2 June 16, 2013
Week 3 June 23, 2013
Week 4 June 30, 2013
Week 5 July 7, 2013
Week 6 July 14, 2013
Week 7 July 21, 2013

For the first time, group leaders and group members will register for trips online. With the new online registration process, group leaders will select their group’s week of service and desired state. Costs for 2013 will not be increased, remaining at $310 for youth program volunteers and $325 in the adult/college program.

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ASP:Bearers of Hope This Summer

By Tim Norton, Chief Advancement Officer

Just off the main highway in Hazard, Kentucky, driving through the lush, green hillsides and alongside idyllic running creeks, I thought, just for a minute, that I had stepped back in time—way back. Coming upon a home where volunteers, guided by a staff of four from ASP’s Chavies/Perry County, Ky. center, have been hard at work all summer, I knew that I had indeed stepped back in time.

Velda and Marion have lived in this hollow all their lives. For her more than 40 years, and for him just over 50, though their weathered faces belie the reality of their physical ages. Their simple, pieced-together home is not the kind of home that you or I could ever imagine living in—I promise.

With six grandchildren to raise, and a very meager income, the last thing Velda and Marion can spend money on are home repairs. When ASP center director, Mike Milero, first arrived for a home visit, Velda said, “I didn’t expect to see anyone again.” Their home didn’t seem worth working on, not even to them.

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