ANDERSON — Wasps circled around Kansas resident Sara Stacey, 17, as she continued to paint a two-story house at 1215 W. Third St.
With the help of 14-year-old Nick Meier, from Georgia, Stacey was finishing the first day of missionary work of the weeklong Catholic HEART Workcamp. The camp will help pre-selected homeowners around the city with odd jobs, such as repainting houses, mowing unkempt yards and other necessary tasks.
Julia Blanchard, 16, and Lorrin Ochs, 14, started painting the two-story house at 231 Jackson St. at 8:30 a.m. Monday. They were halfway finished as the clock hit 3 p.m. signaling the end of the work day.
“I’ve never been to a big city like this before,” said Ochs, of Emporia, Kan., when asked about what she thought of Anderson.
Anderson resident Laura Soverns, coordinator of the camp in Anderson, said about 250 campers and 50 chaperones will be in the city all week to work at about 60 places, including private homes and social service organizations.
Soverns said 11 churches have traveled to Anderson for the camp. The largest group, which consists of 68 campers and chaperones, is from Kansas, she said.
Soverns started with the group in 2000, when her then-16-year-old son went on a mission trip and she chaperoned.
“What I didn’t expect is that I would become so drawn in by whole experience myself,” she said. “So it became a passion, and I decided to start a camp here.”
The first camp in Anderson was in 2005, Soverns said.
Blanchard, of Twinsburg, Ohio, went on a similar trip last year to Saginaw, Mich., where she performed very similar tasks. Some day, Blanchard said, she wants to do mission work in another country.
“I think people outside the United States need us more,” she said. “But I think people here need help too.”
That rang true for Leanne King and her family, residents of the home at 1215 W. Third St. where campers painted trim.
“We had a notice from our homeowners insurance company saying they were going to drop our insurance if we didn’t do something,” King said as she watched her 3-year-old daughter, Timie, swim in a blow-up pool.
“My dad died seven years ago, and things just kept getting worse,” she said. “It’s good people like this that give me hope.”
Soverns said the teens involved in the camp come from as far as Apopka, Fla., to work on tasks in the area. However, teens from St. Mary’s, where Soverns is a member, were not allowed to participate in the camp in Anderson.
Instead, they went to Minneapolis in June.
According to the Web site for Catholic HEART Workcamp, children who are entering eighth grade and older can participate in the weeklong camps. Every day of the trip, participants help with painting, yard work, indoor and outdoor cleanup, home maintenance and repair on existing homes, neighborhood revitalization and other tasks. Anderson is one of 37 places where the camp will send workers this summer.
While the youth are visiting Indiana, they will go see the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indianapolis Zoo and Circle Centre Mall, as well as go canoeing on the White River.
Catholic HEART (Helping Everyone Attain Repairs Today) Workcamp in Anderson July 13-19
By the numbers:
306: Campers including teens ages 13 to 20 and chaperones
60: Places where teens are working including private homes and social service organizations
11: Churches with workers who traveled o Anderson
36: Teens from Florida, the furthest location
68: Tens from Kansas, the largest group
2005: The year the camp started in Anderson
1993: The first year Catholic HEART workcamp was held in Orlando, Fla.
Source: Laura Soverns, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Anderson
Home News (ADS ONLY)
Related Photos
-
John P. Cleary
-
John P. Cleary
-
John P. Cleary
Discussion
July 15, 2008
9:23 p.m.: Missionaries helps Anderson residents
- Home News (ADS ONLY)
-
-
Photo gallery: AU vs Mount Saint Joseph Baseball
Photos from the baseball double header and senior night for Anderson University and Mount Saint Joseph on 5/7/10.
-
Comedian Harland Williams coming to Paramount
LOS ANGELES — Canadian Harland Williams was enjoying winter in Southern California. “It’s beautiful out,” said Williams, 47, familiar from roles in films like “Dumb & Dumber” and “There’s Something About Mary.” “A bit cold, but is 65 cold? I’ll take this cold any day, thank you.” Williams, whose Indiana performances have been exclusive to Crackers in Broad Ripple, will take the stage at the Paramount on Friday, April 2.
-
Nancy Wood back in Anderson, with ASO
ANDERSON — Nancy Wood stared into the glass vase, full of clear water, with the bare roots of a plant dangling down into it.
-
Auction deal for buyers, not for owners
ANDERSON — An auction held Saturday at a former, popular cabinet manufacturer resulted in deals for local woodwork hobbyists and businesses, but earned less than the new owners hoped for.
-
Ann Duran on the air in Madison County
DALEVILLE — As a child, radio personality Ann Duran remembers her father calling her his mini-Barbara Walters.
-
Weights, measures officials protect consumers
ANDERSON — Whether consumers are filling up their cars’ gas tanks, buying a gallon of milk or drying clothes at a laundromat, one man in Anderson makes sure they always get their money’s worth.
-
AHS rocking to 'Schoolhouse Rock Live!'
ANDERSON, Ind. — With the end of the school year quickly approaching, Anderson High School Performing Arts students are springing into a favorite pastime. With the help of their director of six years, Tiffany Jackson, the group of 12 is putting on a musical, “Schoolhouse Rock Live!”
-
Anderson native to lead county ghost tour
ANDERSON — Growing up in Madison County, Nicole Kobrowski liked to visit some of the area’s creepier places, such as Moss Island Road just west of the city.
-
Sidewalk Prophets looking for a Dove
Sidewalk Prophets know how to please a crowd when they sing Christian pop at concerts across the nation.
Now, they’d like fans to reciprocate to help the band win a Dove Award. -
At Home: Project a bonding experience
PENDLETON — When a four-year project goes on for seven years, the result is often a strained marriage.
- More Home News (ADS ONLY) Headlines
-
Raw Video: Israeli Embassy Car Attacked
Coroner: Don't Know Houston's Cause of Death Yet
Valentine Greetings Sent Worldwide From Loveland
Greek Austerity Measures Spark Riots
Raw Video: Obama Budget Goes to Capitol Hill
Arab League Wants U.N. Help in Syria
Nordic Festival Puts North Korea in Spotlight
'Rumor Has It' Adele's Rolling in the Grammys
Grohl, Grammy Nominees Cut Up on the Red Carpet
Greece Passes New Austerity Deal Amid Rioting
Raw Video: Greek Rioting Ahead of Austerity Vote
Raw Video: Child Rescued After Kosovo Avalanche
Pop Music Superstar Whitney Houston Dies at 48
Whitney Houston's Church Mourns Her Passing
Reaction to Houston's Death at Clive Davis Party
79 Turtles Seized at Shanghai Airport
Fuel Removal Under Way on Capsized Italian Ship
Police: Houston Found Dead in Her Hotel Room
