A few weeks ago, while other teens were lounging by the pool and watching TV, about 40 high schoolers were busy making repairs to homes throughout the area through Richmond Metro Workcamp.

From July 11-17, the camp hosted six crews of about 65 people at the Fairfield Presbyterian Church on Cold Harbor Road in Mechanicsville. Together, the teams comprised of eight different churches made repairs to seven homes.

“The bathroom looks fabulous,” Rebecca Tunstall said of her newly tiled floor.

The 89-year-old lung cancer survivor also received a new laundry room ceiling, freshly painted drywall and some outdoor sprucing up to her Ashland home.

When it comes to choosing which homes will receive repairs, the workcamp gets referrals from different sources, including word of mouth, the Area Agency on Aging, Social Services, and a networking community of staff who see needs and makes suggestions as needed, workcamp spokeswoman Miranda Terry-Clark said.

The crew that worked on Tunstall’s home was completely comprised of first-year campers. “They’re already better handymen than us,” Alan White, worksite director, said.

The campers not only learned about carpentry while at Tunstall’s home, they also learned about the woman they were helping. Tunstall retired from Hanover County as a special needs aide.

Her background also includes teaching piano. “She taught us ‘Lean on Me’ and ‘Chopsticks’ on the piano,” camper Erin Hedrick said.

This year’s workcamp efforts are in honor of Doris Davis, who has been with the program 17 years. She takes photos at the work sites that are then shown each night during the devotional program held at Fairfield. T-shirts were made in her honor.

The camp is not all about work. After showers and dinner, the evening programs at Fairfield also offer music, drama and worship.

Each night features a keynote speaker and testimonies from the campers before everyone goes to sleep in the church classrooms.

The cost to attend camp is $225 per person. Campers either pay out of pocket or hold fundraisers, according to Bob Friend of Richmond Metro Workcamp.

Friend said it takes a serious commitment to participate as the students are giving up a week of their summer and many adults take off from work.

Despite the cost and time commitment, everyone involved with the camp insists the reward for participation is fellowship.

“You love your crew like your family,” camper Kathryn Leary said.

“I just felt like I had a large extended family,” Tunstall said.

To her crew, she added, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

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Richmond Metro Workcamp was formed in 1993 as a nonprofit, interdenominational group committed to Christian fellowship through community service.

Shannon Rice for The Local
Doris Davis, left, was recognized for her 17 years of service to the workcamp program. This year’s efforts were held in her honor. Davis is shown with Rebecca Tunstall, whose Ashland home benefitted from the project of the Richmond Metro Workcamp.