 Ken Odor
Youth spend a week helping others
Vilma Starke made some new friends last week, when a crew from Richmond Metro Workcamp spent five days fixing up her Mechanicsville home, no charge.
“I know I’m going to see everyone of them in heaven,” said the 80-year-old widow, as she sat in her living room last Thursday.
Outside, six students and an adult were repainting the exterior of her rancher on Cornfield Lane.
From a faded white, the house would end the week with a new look, tan with brown trim.
The crew had power washed the home, scraped old paint and caulked windows and other areas before starting on the painting.
Richmond Metro Workcamp is in its 16th year as a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization.
Cooper Guncheon, who graduated from Atlee High School this year and is headed for Radford university in the fall, is a four-year repeater in the program.
“There are fewer poeple this year,” said Guncheon, who like his co-workers, paid $225 for the opportunity to work through the week, starting July 6 and ending July 12.
This year the Christian-based work ministry had 60 youth working in nine crews in the Richmond area, four in Hanover, said Miranda Terry, media correspondent for the organization.
Guncheon said having fewer youth was okay.
“It makes it easier to get to know people,” he said.
Terry said the youth were staying at Shady Grove Methodist Church, but are looking for new lodging for next year, primarily because of the lack of shower facilities at the church.
Each day of workcamp started at 6:30 a.m., and crews were on the job by 8.
Lunch for crew three came from Mechanicsville United Methodist Church, and the crew had daily devotions.
Mechanicsville Baptist Church and Mechanicsville Christian Church pitched in to help with the shower situation, said Terry.
On Thursday, the students were looking forward to a concert at Hanover Presvbyterian Church that evening, where Guncheon’s future roommate at Radford, Alex Hall would be playing guitar in a band called “End of the Age.”
Hall, also an Atlee graduate, explained why he signed up for the program.
“It’s a good feeling in the end helping someone,” he said.
But the week wasn’t all work.
On Wednesday, the crew knocked off after lunch for a cooling dip at Lakeside Pool. And each evening after supper music, worship and drama programs helped the workers relax.
The beneficiary of crew three’s largesse couldn’t have been happier.
“It’s God answering my prayer,” said Starke. “They’re the best bunch of kids I’ve met in my life.”
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