The Appalachia Service Project, Inc. is a non-profit
ministry affiliated with the Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist
Church. Each Year youth, adults and college students participate in ASP's
programs of home repair, major rehab, and new construction for low and very
low-income people in Central Appalachia. These programs improve available
housing, as well as increase affordable housing. ASP uses the hands and talents
of willing workers to improve housing for people living in need.
After over 25 years of growth, ASP continues to build on the
momentum of its summer ministry with thousands of young workers and their adult
leaders offering love service by repairing roofs, building steps, rebuilding
floors, insulating walls, painting rooms, replacing windows and other useful
projects. The housing goal of ASP is to make homes in the Appalachian area
warmer, safer and drier. The project started in 1969 with 50 volunteers working
on 4 houses. This upcoming summer, over 7,000 youth and their advisors will
repair over 300 homes. Through the year around programs, about 1,000 volunteers
will serve forty to fifty families.
ASP is not just about home repair. Through work projects,
volunteers with ASP actively demonstrate God's love. Through this experience,
friendships are built with recipients, while respecting and celebrating the
dignity, beliefs and lifestyles of each person being served and serving. Through
its service and witness, ASP affirms the value of each person as a child of God.
The stress is often not on the home repair part of the ministry, but the
interpersonal relationships that can be built through this activity.
ASP participation started at the First United Methodist
Church of Lansing in 1983. The first group was started by Esther Crandall and
consisted of four volunteers who went along with another church's group that
summer. The first group fully organized and sent from FUMC-Lansing went during
the summer of 1984. There were 11 volunteers in this group. The church has been
sending a group every summer since that time. Most summers FUMC-Lansing sends
three work groups consisting of between 15-20 people.
The commitment involved in ASP for members of the
FUMC-Lansing group involves much more than just one week during the summer. The
group is involved in various fund raising activities during the course of the
year in order to pay for the expenses of the trip. There are also monthly
meetings during the fall and spring of each year to attend. The fall meetings
are organizational in nature. The spring meetings are to hold workshops in order
to be prepared for the trip. There is also a personal financial commitment by
each individual volunteer. There is a volunteer fee to be paid to Appalachia
Service Project, Inc. by each individual (this year $135.00) to help pay for the
room, board and other expenses at the local center during the summer. The
project involves a large commitment on the part of the volunteers in both time
and money in order to serve others. The volunteers consider this time and money
well spent because of the enjoyment and feeling of helping others that they
receive through the project.
For more information about the general ASP
ministry, got to thier website at
http://www.asphome.org
For more information about the ASP ministry at FUMC-Lansing,
write to:
FUMC / ASP 18420
Burnham Ave., Lansing, IL 60438
or
call 1-708-474-1144.
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