On July 27, a group of 28 adult, young adult, and teen volunteers from St. Vincent de Paul Parish in the Stirling neighborhood of Long Hill Township attended 7 a.m. Mass. With the blessing of Father Hernan Cely, the pastor, the group then hit the road for Terra Alta, W.V., for the parish’s 23rd mission trip to Appalachia.
The St. Vincent’s volunteers attended an orientation with the summer home repair group. They spent the evening getting to know one another. The following five days were filled with working on repair jobs, growing in faith, making new connections, and having fun.
The group tackled eight projects, each with unique challenges. The volunteers served people who were low-income, elderly, and/or disabled. The range of their needs varied. The people appreciated the work, which improved the quality of their homes and lives.
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The work included replacing a bathtub with an accessible walk-in shower, repairing a ramp, fixing a rotting subfloor, installing insulation and new carpeting, power washing, staining a weather-damaged deck, replacing a deck, windows, doors, and stair railings, and building porch steps.
St. Vincent’s thanked the efforts of Father Cely, the parish staff, donors, and the adult volunteers, including Father John Calabro, chaplain and teacher at Pope John XXIII Regional High School in Sparta, N.J. He celebrated daily Mass and supervised a work group, along with other adult leaders, who guided their own groups of teens in completing the improvement projects.
Teri Kesselmeyer is the technology and communications coordinator and child and youth protection coordinator for St. Vincent de Paul Parish in the Stirling neighborhood of Long Hill Township.
Long Hill volunteers improve lives during Appalachian mission trip