By NANCY PEYTON
The Logan Banner
LOGAN, W.Va. — Churches from all over the country have been in West Virginia for the last eight weeks to work on beautification and service projects. Several of these groups have been working on the historic Chafin House.
(Photo by Nancy Peyton)
YouthWorks, a program established in 1994, is a service to help anyone interested organize a mission trip.
Churches with youth from Pennsylvania, New York, Iowa, Michigan, Illinois, Kansas and Virginia have all been to the Chafin House over the past three weeks to work on painting and general upkeep of the home for the GFWC-WV Women’s Club of Logan.
YouthWorks allows participants to choose from over 70 sites across the country.
Teresa Atterberry, mission trip leader for the group from Illinois, said she hopes that others who have seen the youth out working in the area will be inspired to finish the job they’ve started.
“Hopefully us being here will spark members of the community to come help out and finish the Women’s Club house,” Atterberry said. “I know there’s a lot of work to be done to finish the general repair work. Hopefully some in the community can come in after we leave to help finish the project.”
Lisa Polcha, with the Pennsylvania group, said the trip to West Virginia was her first through YouthWorks. She said it’s been an incredible experience.
“This is my first youth trip ever,” said. “I’ve never done anything like this before. It’s awesome to see the change in this building over the course of the week. What’s really cool is when people drive by and compliment the work we’re doing. Miss Shirley has told us repeatedly that we are a blessing and an answered prayer, which is awesome to hear.”
Chris Caplingert, a leader with the group from Kansas, said the work done on these trips is always great for the community.
“We enjoy coming into a community, doing some work in it and when we can see how a house like this has been transformed is the most beautiful part of the experience,” Caplingert said.
Baisden said the Logan Women’s Club still needs financial help and volunteers to help out with restoring the Chafin House.
See more from The Logan Banner