Housing Development Alliance

American Reformed Church has narrowed down to only three work sites. The Airport gang has been speeding along with the new house. In two and a half days, they have raised the walls, planted the trusses, and will soon be shingling. Our carpenters are honestly impressed. There is a group still at R. Wallen's home and they have been leveling/digging the ground straight, dug a trench for pipes, and they painted the foundation. But the group(s) in Defiance have, probably, the hardest task of the three. For three days now, they have been shoveling and raking the foundation floors of two houses in the beginning stage. Under the hot sun, with practically no shade, the Defiance group trudged on. Despite the tedious work, everyone seemed to be feeling some satisfaction at the end of the day. And we value their hard work and dedication more than anything. There's some definite chemistry between the volunteers and their carpenters. American Reformed Church has one more day of work and then they get to party at King's Island on Friday! Woo!

In other news, First Federal Savings and Loan of Hazard, KY partnered with the Housing Development Alliance, and participated with the Federal Home Loan Bank’s “Affordable Housing Program.” As part of this, they agreed to do some landscaping and labor on a construction day yesterday. They also painted R. Wallen’s home and completed the final cleaning. It was hot, but they did an awesome job! We thank them for their labor and partnership.

American Reformed Church from De Motte, IN are with us this week. We have 5 work sites: One at the Airport, where the group is framing a new house. One at Defiance, leveling the ground for a new home. One group is helping C. Gross add support to her deck, while the group at L. Miller's home is installing new windows. The last group has been cutting the lawn and clearing the brush for A. Bank's home. This is the second year that American Reformed Church has spent with us, and we sure are glad that they came back. Everyone appears to have had a great first day, with a wide variety of activities to do. And what would a first day be without an intruding rainshower?

This morning, the news predicted a 50% chance of showers for today. Jane Rose automatically dreaded the groups being washed out. I, trying to be optimistic, reminded her that there was also a 50% chance that it would not rain. Guess who was right. The showers began around 2:00pm, not leaving much of a work day left for the groups, so they all eventually returned to the church. Jane--Er, I mean, Janeeeeeeee--and I were on our way to visit Defiance, so I called up one of the carpenters at the worksite.

Me: Hey, Daniel, are you guys still at the site?
Daniel: Where else would we be?
Me: So, you guys haven't been rained out yet?
Daniel: No, it was raining, but it's stopped.
Me: So...you'll still be working when I get there?
Daniel: Yeah, there's a bit of blue sky up here still.
Me: Alright, we'll be right over.
Daniel: See ya then.

And as we made our way to Defiance, the rain began to pour and the lightning began to freak me out. The storm was following us. And who do we see leaving the site just as we pull up? The group. Fantastic. And on the way back to Hazard, the rain stops and the a bit of blue sky returns. It's all a sick joke, I tell ya.

Hey everyone! Well, we lucked out today with the weather. All week long (except for a few scattered showers) the temperature and humidity has been out of control! Especially for those work groups that have spent afternoons digging ditches or shingling roof tops. Today was nice, for a change. Cloudy skies and low temps are making these last day jobs easier.

The North Shore groups are just about done with the small buildings they both have been individually working on. One is going to be used as a toolshed, but I'll tell ya something, that's got to be the best looking toolshed I've ever seen. The other group is working on a small home that has a beautiful overlook of the Appalachian Mountains. Both of the North Shore groups worked hard, and were very open to new experiences (Good job getting on the roof, guys! Even if it was just one time. I can know how much heights can suck.) But it seems like everyone is ready for home and I can't blame them. Everyone deserves a nice air-conditioned couch after a week of such hard work. We hope that they have a safe trip home and come back next year!

Ft. Thomas has had a hard week too! They've been all over Perry County, helping paint homes, underpinning new homes, and digging ditches for Walkertown Elementary school. One group even started painting the bathrooms for the new and improved Hazard baseball diamond at the Perry County Park. Despite the wasps and broken cell phones and near-disasters with the heat, HDA is proud to announce that the entire church group has survived! As Jane Rose once said, "They sure are a scrappy bunch, aren't they? They just got in there and did it!" They're tired, but every time I visited their work sites, the kids were always smiling. Especially this little guy:At the beginning of the week, he waited for the vultures to come get him. By today, however, he appears to be having a fun time at the work site. He even made friends with another youngster who lives near the site at the Airport. He should remember his time here for a very long time. Hopefully, everyone will. Our carpenters truly enjoyed working with Ft. Thomas, and we hope that the volunteers recognize the difference that they have made in our community. We'll see you all real soon, right? RIGHT?! Right.

Ft. Thomas has had a few problems these first few days. These first two days, one group has continually been attacked by an army of wasps. The group defeated the monsters with the help of six, count 'em SIX, cans of wasp spray. In addition to this obstacle, a young girl lost her cell phone at the work site in Defiance. She had kept her phone on the cinder-block wall in the early morning, when she accidentally knocked it over, and it plummeted down a 2-feet deep gap. No one could reach it with their bare hands. You should've seen the imaginative tools they created to pry the cell phone out. After an hour and a half, our carpenter, Daniel, skillfully rescued the phone. Well, he got it anyway. A bowlful of rice will prove just how successful they were at saving the device. I just wanted to assure everyone that everyone is just fine and working hard.

North Shore has been doing a great job too. Although both groups have been doing different projects, somehow they both will be shingling different roofs by Thursday. Some are more excited than others about being on top of the roofs, but our carpenters will make sure that everyone is safe.

Both groups are taking tomorrow off, so that's all the news I have for you right now. Don't fret, people of the net.

This week, we have volunteers from both First Presbyterian Church of Ft. Thomas, KY and the North Shore Presbyterian Church from Milwaukee, WI. Ft. Thomas has quite a few projects all over Perry County. The have work groups at the local Walkertown Elementary School digging ditches for water pipes, construction on a new home out in Defiance, painting the outside of G. Christian's home, and the last group is cementing a new driveway in the Airport area.

North Shore has two groups divided between paneling & flooring for the home of E .D. Clemons, and another constructing a deck and out building for H. Campbell. It has been an incredibly hot day and each volunteer is ready to spend the evening relaxing at the Pavilion. In order to get the party started, Mother Nature decided to send some rain our way right at the perfect time--closing time. Enjoy this perfectly-timed thunderstorm, everyone! I best be leaving before our power gets shut off again.

It's Friday and all the groups are finishing up their work. There have been so many projects throughout the week, I'll struggle to remember all of them.

Overbrook Presbyterian only had 5 volunteers, so we were able to put them at one work location on a new airport house. Throughout the week, they completed the roof of the new building and shingled it all. Despite the heat, they assured me that they loved being high up on that roof. I was impressed with their work and hope they come back with more hard-working people!

Little Cedar Presbyterian was separated into 4 different worksites. One "landscaped" for a new home, another did roofing, and the last group painted the exterior of a home. They had a tough time with the hot temperature of Eastern Kentucky, but they worked through it (with a few spare trips for extra water). The kids seemed to have a good time, but they're ready to head back. I can't blame them. This week has been hot and hard, but we really appreciate their dedication.

The last group was Hill-Murray School divided into 4 work crews. They did demolition and construction of a deck, painted various houses, dug ditches for water pipes, and also "landscaped". They were one of the most organized groups that HDA has seen in a long while. Everything scheduled right down to the minute. Despite the two trips to the ER (don't worry, no serious serious injuries occurred), this school worked hard and had a good time. I heard laughter in every site. They've spent summers with us before, and we expect to see them again.

Anyway, this week has been crazy busy and I'm pooped. I'm going to start off this weekend with a long, long nap. Have a good weekend, y'all!

First Presbyterian of South Boston, Virginia successfully finished their week. They got the walls and trusses up on the new house at the Airport and made a new deck for the home in Knott County. We hope they had a great time helping our community, and we thank them for all their hard work. We hope to see them again next year!

Now, this week is extremely crazy. We have 3 groups visiting us on the same week: Overbrook Presbyterian Church from Columbus, Ohio, Little Cedar Presbyterian from Little York, Illinois, and Hill-Murray School from Maplewood, Minnesota. Grand total, you ask? A whopping 69 volunteers scattered about in 9 work sites. Insane, right? Needless to say, everyone, and I mean everyone is busy this week maintaining the groups. In light of that fact, my blogs are going to be scarce and extremely abstract this week. There is no way that I can report on each worksite in depth every few days. I won't be posting any photos either, but all of them will be on Facebook by the end of the week. I know you must all be so terribly disappointed.

Anyway, this week started off pretty bumpy. Miscommunication, unfortunate-timed rain storms, an asthma attack, and repeated trips to the paint supply store have left us all (staff and volunteers both) pretty exhausted. Cross your fingers for a smoother rest of the week, people. Cross 'em good!

First Presbyterian has one more day left. The Knott County group has finished the deck (complete with railing and steps) and are very close to finishing the siding. The Airport group has gotten all the house walls up, and are currently putting in the supporting beams. If all goes according to plan, they'll be working on the roof tomorrow. Let's pray it doesn't rain!

The HDA blog is finally back! I, John, will once again be updating you on the latest news with the Alliance. Glancing through the volunteer groups scheduled to serve the Hazard area, I recognize a few names from last summer. We can't wait to see you again!

Well, where to start? I guess with the basics. Jane Rose is our new Volunteer Coordinator, and she has been busy planning the volunteers for the next few months. She has high goals for the summer, including a week in June where we will be juggling 75 volunteers at the same time! Phew. She's had a fun time working with HDA and is ready for more.

I have completed my junior year in college and have just celebrated my 21st birthday (woooo!). Although I enjoyed my studies immensely, I am so ready to substitute the daily grind of writing papers and taking exams for meeting new people and helping the community. In addition to being Janie's assistant, I am also being used for my social networking skills. I would not say I'm tech-savvy, but I know my way around Facebook--which is just what the Alliance wants. For those of you who follow us on Facebook (which should be ALL of you), I am the cause for the flood of information on your newsfeed. Sorry. My bad. We're just excited for the events to come and to share our accomplishments with everyone else with the hope of inspiring others to help volunteer with us later. If you haven't "liked" us on Facebook yet, you really should.

Next week, First Presbyterian from Virginia will be visiting. They will be my first group in a whole year! Hopefully, I can quickly get back into the swing of things. Until then, I have nothing else to report. Have a good summer everyone!