Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 15, 1993 TAG: 9308130136
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-10 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WYTHEVILLE LENGTH: Medium
The group that worked in Wythe County last week came to Virginia from the St. Paul, Minn., area. They stayed at the St. Paul United Methodist Church in Wytheville while doing their work.
The group of nine volunteers included people as young as 15 and several adults. Their task was to put up a new house in the Ivanhoe community.
"For the last seven years now, we have taken youth from our church down to the Appalachians to do mission work," Kathy Hanson said.
This year they had planned a Habitat for Humanity project as something a little different from previous years. Originally they were to work in Idaho; but the logistics fell through, so they came to Virginia.
One of the young people, training for the 20-mile Twin Cities Marathon, spent his extra time running to stay in shape. Another was a student from Japan who had been in Minnesota only two months and asked if she could participate in the Habitat venture.
Some members of the group had done some construction work, but it was a new experience for most of them. Eric Kube organized them into teams with specific jobs in pulling the building materials together.
"I used to be a carpenter," Kube said. "It's teamwork. We all try to work together."
He said the group was surprised by the warm welcome it got from people in Wythe County. In most places where he has worked on Habitat projects, he said, the volunteers have had to stay low-key because people getting the houses have not wanted it known that they benefited from what they saw as charity.
That has not been true here, he said.
In addition to the accommodations provided by the Wytheville church and shower facilities at the nearby Wytheville Community Center, several community groups handled meals for the visiting volunteers.
"After a long day, it's nice to know that someone else is going to prepare the food for you," Hanson said.
by CNB