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Community Corner

Introductory Slide Show for 2012 Appalachia Service Project

Learn how to become part of this summer’s local Appalachia Service Project – a weeklong outreach to make homes warmer, safer and drier – during an informational session on Thurs., Feb. 9.

The ASP introductory slide show will start at 7:30 p.m. at Jesse Lee Memorial United Methodist Church, 207 Main St.  Meet in the church’s Carriage House, the Tudor-style building at the west end of the parking lot.

This no-obligation night will introduce high school students and their parents – and any other interested volunteers – to the Appalachia Service Project overall, and especially to the Ridgefield ASP group based at Jesse Lee and the developing plan for this year’s trip June 30-July 8.

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Adults are also encouraged to volunteer for the trip – both those who have children coming along and those who don’t.

ASP is a national Christian volunteer organization founded by Rev. Glenn “Tex” Evans, a Methodist minister, in 1969. Since then, more than 260,000 volunteers from across the nation have repaired 14,000 homes in West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia.

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ASP is open to anyone age 15 and up. You don’t have to be a member of Jesse Lee or any church, you don’t have to live in Ridgefield, and you don’t need to be an expert with a hammer. Basic construction skills and safety rules are taught in training sessions prior to going on ASP. There’s also a fund-raising component. And it helps if you like ice cream.

The Jesse Lee ASP group is in its 27th year. Last summer, 117 students and adults from Jesse Lee ASP worked for a week to restore the homes (and hope) of folks who needed it in three counties in West Virginia and one county in Virginia.

“But ASP is more than a construction program – it's a relationship ministry,” said Peter Seirup, a member of the Jesse Lee ASP Council. “Everyone who goes spends a lot of time interacting with the family they've serving and that – more than the construction work – is something that impacts you for the rest of your life.”

Seirup said the week in Appalachia is an eye-opener for teens raised in Ridgefield.

“They often go wondering what the residents will be like and what on Earth they’re possibly going to talk about with them,” Seirup said. “And, by the end of the week, there’s hugging and crying and posing for pictures and sharing of emails and addresses because of connections that have been made.”

You don’t have to pre-register for the Feb. 9 introductory slide show. For more information, call Jesse Lee’s church office at (203) 438-8791.  Or go online to www.jesseleeasp.org.

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