NEW CASTLE —
A coat of paint can do more than embellish a piece of wood.
Apparently, it also can seal a friendship.
Just ask Nicole Watkins and Shelby Brown, youth group members at First Assembly of God and Bethel Presbyterian Church, respectively. The two had never met before Monday, when they showed up to participate in His Hands Ministries.
Yesterday, though, they were talking and joking like lifelong pals.
“I met her the first day,” Brown said. “We worked together on Monday, and we just became best friends.
“We work well together, we get paint on each other. Well, we did that Monday. We’re good now.”
His Hands, an annual faith-based outreach coordinated through Lawrence County Community Action Partnership, uses volunteers from local churches to help financially strapped homeowners with needed repairs.
About 130 teens and 20 adults fanned out to tackle nearly three dozen projects around the county this week. Watkins and Brown were among a dozen or so kids plus Jon Pickens, First Baptist pastor of student ministry, who were painting the home of Mary Camargo at 335 Laurel Blvd.
Watkins is a first-timer with His Hands who admitted the work was “harder than I thought; we’ve painted a lot of stuff.” Brown participated two years ago, but worked then with other teens from her own church.
This year, though, the youth groups were more diverse.
“One of the goals we’re trying to do is to build a community of Christians,” explained Joe Wright, a His Hands volunteer and member of Lawrence County Youth Ministries.
“We don’t want it to be me and my eight kids from my youth group. It’s me and 120 other kids. So we mixed up the youth groups and mixed up the leaders.”
The number of teens participating continues to grow, Wright said, and was about 50 percent higher this year than last.
What’s down, though, is the adult skilled labor volunteers — the people “who could confidently take a project and say, ‘I have the tools, I know exactly how to level this, and I will need a No. 8 nail,’” Wright said.
“So we had some skilled things (projects such as building a handicapped ramp or a sidewalk) that we couldn’t tackle this year. But we had no shortage of hands overall. We actually had to come up with some extra projects to put people on.”
And, as Brown observed, the paint from those projects didn’t always stay on the house.
“Sometimes its unexplainable,” said Lisa Herbert of New Creation United Methodist. “The first day I came home with brown paint on me — and I never touched brown paint.”
Angel Stouwie, also of New Creation, added, “The first house we worked on, Lisa and I painted statues, and we had paint all over us. We looked like the statues.”
Yesterday, though, the paint was going on Camargo’s Laurel Boulevard home, which also had been visited last week by teens with Group Workcamps. Those youths came from towns from all over the eastern U.S.
Camargo praised the efforts of both groups. Her only concern was that, like last week’s team, the His Hands crew might not have tall enough ladders — or the adults to scale them — so that her entire second floor would get painted.
She was not sure who she’d get to finish the job if that were the case.
“It’s hard to own your own home,” she said. “I also have a porch that’s falling in, it needs replaced. You have this and that, and also our large taxes.
“It gets down to who needs it the worst. Taxes may lose out this year. I’ve always been down there before the deadline with my check to pay everybody, but I don’t think I’m going to make it this year. I’m just very grateful that these groups have been able to come out. Otherwise, it would never have gotten done.”
Closer Look
Related Photos
-
Dan Irwin/NEWS LEFT PHOTO: Shelby Brown from Bethel Presbyterian Church helps paint the porch of Laurel Boulevard resident Mary Camargo yesterday. Brown was part of His Hands Ministries, a faith-based outreach that helps financially strapped homeowners make needed repairs.
-
Dan Irwin/NEWS Chad Stoecker of First Assembly of God goes in for more paint as he spruces up the overhang above a side door on the home of Laurel Boulevard resident Mary Camargo. Stoecker was part of His Hands Ministries, a faith-based outreach that helps financially strapped homeowners make needed repairs.
-
Dan Irwin/NEWS Lisa Herbert, foreground, and Angel Stouwie, both of New Creation United Methodist Church, paint window frames at the Laurel Boulevard home of Mary Camargo. They were part of His Hands Ministries, a faith-based outreach that helps financially strapped homeowners make needed repairs.
-
Dan Irwin/NEWS Kayla Barber holds the ladder while Stan Maketa paints the second floor of Mary Camargo’s Laurel Boulevard home. The two were part of His Hands Ministries, a faith-based outreach that helps financially strapped homeowners make needed repairs.
-
Dan Irwin/NEWS David Williamson applies paint with a roller while Jon Pickens, pastor of student ministry at First Baptist Church, scrapes the porch at the Laurel Boulevard home of Mary Camargo. They were part of His Hands Ministries, a faith-based outreach that helps financially strapped homeowners make needed repairs.
-
Dan Irwin/NEWS Local teens working with His Hands Ministries fan out to paint the Laurel Boulevard home of Mary Camargo.
Discussion
Local youths fix homes and make friends
- Closer Look
-
-
Viral video: Grizzly bear cub, wolf cub play together
It’s like something out of a children's book: A bear cub meets a wolf cub and they become the best of friends. Even though they are different species and ferocious predators, the unlikely couple stays pals for life.
-
Dave Ramsey: Don’t fall for same-as-cash offers
“Dave Says" is a weekly column featuring financial advice from nationally syndicated radio host Dave Ramsey. His column is filled with timely, relevant questions and answers taken from actual letters and calls on Ramsey's radio program, “The Dave Ramsey Show.”
-
Photo Gallery, Story: Super Brew raises $46,000 for American Cancer Society
It’s a winning combination: raising a glass and funds at the same time. That was the opportunity at the third annual Super Brew, which offered participants the chance to sample more than 5o craft beers and to support the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.
-
Our Opinion: City hurts businesses by ticketing during lunch hours
Most of the candidates running (and now elected) for New Castle City Council and mayor last year said they believed downtown redevelopment was important. This was a common theme during editorial board meetings at the New Castle News prior to last spring’s primary and before the general election.
-
Racing switch in Ohio shouldn’t affect local plans
Converting the proposed Austintown track from harness to thoroughbred racing won’t affect the plans for Lawrence County’s racetrack. But the inactivity of the local license holder might.
-
Lori Brothers: Get connected for better health
I am always happy when I see the lifesaving value of connection happening around me. It makes my heart smile when many people spontaneously unite. There is a feeling of excitement and community. Everyone gets onto the same page, when often the pages are scattered.
-
Mohawk students study at children’s center
Six Mohawk High school seniors are gaining extra knowledge outside the classroom. The students are participating in projects this term at the Oh Wow! Roger and Gloria Jones Children’s Center for Science and Technology in Youngstown.
-
Lincoln to stage Shakespeare send-up
Lincoln High School will present the play “I Hate Shakespeare” at 7 p.m. tomorrow and Thursday in the auditorium. The play takes a comedic look at some of William Shakespeare’s greatest plays, such as “Hamlet,” “Romeo and Juliet” and “Macbeth.”
-
Best Super Bowl ad? Vote for your favorite
Naked M&Ms, an out-of-shape dog on a mission and Clint Eastwood delivering a passionate speech about American adversity -- these are among the favorite commercials that aired during Sunday's Super Bowl.
-
SLIDESHOW: Giants beat Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI
The New York Giants won their fourth NFL championship Sunday in Indianapolis, scoring in the final minute to defeat New England 21-17.
- More Closer Look Headlines
-
