Making an impact

By Catherine Amos

Published: July 16, 2008

In four and a half days, more than 200 volunteers will hammer, paint and dig to repair 14 homes in Culpeper and the surrounding area. No, it isn’t “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” but it could be.

Teens and adults from across the commonwealth have gathered in Culpeper through “Impact Virginia,” a statewide Baptist mission organization devoted to repairing deteriorating homes in local communities for homeowners who could not otherwise afford the repairs.

“It’s hard work,” said Megan Henry, 17, a volunteer from Spotsylvania. “But we’re dedicated and we’re motivated, so it’s worth it.”

This is the third summer Impact Virginia has come to Culpeper since 2002, working locally through the Shiloh Baptist Association and its director of missions, Lanny Horton. By the end of the week, Impact Virginia will have organized the repair of 63 homes in the area in six years.

“We don’t do it for what we get out of it,” Horton said. “The young people that come and work learn a lifestyle of helping to meet other people’s needs.”

The volunteers, who come in groups from different churches, have set up camp at Floyd T. Binns Middle School, sleeping in classrooms, showering in the locker rooms and dining in the cafeteria. The original plan was to use Eastern View High School — which would have been the first major use of the facility — but Horton said the school did not get its occupancy permit in time.

The church groups are divided into work crews, each with adult crew chiefs who oversee the home repairs. The work sites are in and around the county, with crews in Amissville, Madison, Brandy Station, Flint Hill, Sperryville and Reva. The work ranges from building porches and wheelchair ramps to repairing roofs and renovating kitchens.

A crew of about 15 volunteers was working diligently Tuesday morning to build Swanie Burke, 50, a wheelchair ramp for his house in addition to staining his front porch.

Burke was injured in the early ’90s when a 450-pound spool of wire fell on his left foot. He walks with difficulty and uses a motorized scooter when possible.

“I’m very thankful for these guys,” Burke said. “They’ll do anything in the world for you. I’ve never had anybody do anything like this. When I found out (about my house), I sat and balled like a baby because it touched me so much. It’s going to give me such freedom.”

Horton said the homes needing repair are submitted by various agencies, including social services, the Rappahannock Community Service Board, Rapidan Better Housing, as well as from churches and individuals. Construction coordinators review the submissions and visit the homes to see if they fit certain criteria. Projects must make the home safer, warmer or drier, and must be completed in 4.5 days.

In Brandy Station, crews worked side by side at two sites on the same street, building a new front porch for one house and a back porch for another. Teens and adults drained rancid-smelling water from beneath a house flaking with paint, its porch roof propped up by boards, the remains of the rotted porch tossed in a nearby dumpster.

“This is the only time I can come out and smash stuff and not get in trouble,” said Cary Wimbish, 15, a volunteer from Richmond. “Tearing up boards with crowbars and breaking brick columns with sledgehammers. Working under a dangerous roof that might fall down at any second.”

Wimbish and his demolition team seemed to enjoy getting to know each other and playing in the dirt, not to mention giving their time and energy to those in need.

“It’s pretty nice that we’re helping people who don’t have the money to do this and spread the word of God,” said Erik Anderson, 15, a volunteer from Woodbridge.

For the most part, the work at each camp is organized through local churches under the umbrella of Virginia Baptist associations, explained Ash White, Impact Virginia’s on-site coordinator. White works for Impact and travels to the different camps each summer.

“You don’t have to leave the country to find poverty and you don’t have to leave the country to find need,” White said. “I think it’s really important for kids who live in Virginia to see that there are people who live like this right near them. This is all around them; you don’ t have to be a missionary far away.”

Catherine Amos can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 138 or .