Charity and service
Photo by CHANSE WATSON Volunteer project leader, Art Ellwanger and Nate Swanson focus on roof repair while Renee Roeber and Andrea Stakson focus on digging a trench for winter snow removal.
(front to back) Renee Roeber, Andrea Stakson, and Autumn Schuldt work on digging a trench that will solve a snow removal problem for Dawn in the winter.
(left) Laura Mages and Matthew Carpenter work on suring up the home’s foundation by applying morter to cracked areas.
It is no secret that many in the Silver Valley are going through hard times.
With an older population and low marks for overall health, there are many Shoshone County residents that cannot perform much needed maintenance on their homes or property.
Thankfully though, Idaho Servant Adventures (ISA) (apart of Lutherhaven Ministries) are here to help.
Teaming up with AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) Team Silver 5, the two organizations have been working to make the Silver Valley a better place.
Since their arrival on May 25, the Americorp NCCC team members have been working with ISA on several projects in the area.
From complex projects such as construction and roof work to simple tasks like painting and chopping firewood, the dynamic duo have been busy.
One such project in Wallace on Tuesday required the collaborative effort from both groups to help a woman who was having several problems with her home.
Dawn (who only wanted to be identified by her first name) is on disability and has a difficult time maintaining her 117 year old home with her physical restrictions.
“Its overwhelming,” Dawn said when talking about the amount of work on her house.
The to-do list that the crew had coming onto the work site was fairly extensive.
Snow melt, rain, and age had damaged the integrity of the back yard and foundation, causing water to seep into the basement of the home.
This moisture then caused mold and mildew to develop.
With the goal of correcting this and other issues, the collaborative crew patched exposed areas of the foundation with mortar, dug out and filled some of the basement window wells with pea gravel, created a new casement for the gas pipeline, painted exterior windows, installed a gate in the back yard, and made repairs to weaknesses in the roof.
All of these tasks completed- and not a single dollar spent out of Dawn’s pocket on labor.
Members of this crew in particular had teens and adults from all over the country from as close as Spokane, Washington to as far as Woodbury, Minnesota.
“It’s amazing how far they have come to help,” Dawn said.
The entire day of work on her home was a humbling experience for Dawn.
“It’s a miracle,” she said, “my prayers have been answered with this guys coming. I can’t say enough about (them).”
ISA has a rooted history with helping those in need in the Silver Valley, but with this new partnership with AmeriCorp, they have even more resources to serve with.
AmeriCorp Team leader Amanda Eddy praised ISA and their collaboration with each other.
“It’s working out really well,” Eddy said.
“I think a lot of our missions mesh together, which is strengthening communities and doing outreach. We have been able to serve along side the service teams and use our months of experience...to be able to help the young adults complete these service project.”
Eddy added that it, “definitely has been a really great partnership and I hope it continues.”
With several projects already completed, ISA is still looking for projects in the Silver Valley.
Shoshone Mountain Retreat Director, Clint Kunze, says that “If you or someone you know would like some help from an Idaho Servant Adventures team this summer, don’t hesitate to call or email ISA at (208) 682-2267 or idahoservantadventures@lutherhaven.com.”