Published: June 18, 2009 11:15 pm      

Doing repairs as ministry

Kingdom Builders coming to Ashland next week

Ashland — The banging of hammers and buzzing of saws may be welcome sounds for some Ashland area residents next week.

Kingdom Builders, a nonprofit mission organization, will send a group of about 100 middle and high school students to Ashland to complete repair projects for 10 to 15 homes. Projects include roofing, floor replacement, handicap ramp installation and painting.

Ashland is one of five locations chosen by the organization for projects this year. Other locations include Boone, N.C., and Forsyth, Ga.

Project coordinator Melissa Thompson, who is from Ashland, said the organization received about 100 applications to have projects completed.

Local organizations and businesses helped to fund the projects.

Applicants were required to own their home, be considered low-income by the federal government and have a physical or financial need, Thompson said. They also must not sell their home for three years after the repairs are made.

Thompson visited the homes of all the applicants to help evaluate the need for repairs.

She’s still getting calls from people who want Kingdom Builders to do repairs on their homes.

“It’s hard to say, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t help you,’” she said.

Thompson got help finding applicants from Ashland area organizations, including the Boyd County Family Resource Center and the Ashland planning and community development department.

Mike Miller, director of planning and community development, said he received names for applicants after the department hosted its annual repair fair on May 16.

“We see the need year in and year out with our Repair Affair project,” he said.

This is the ninth year the repair fair has taken place.

He recommended those who had projects too big to complete in a day or missed the deadline to apply fill out applications from Kingdom Builders, Miller said.

The group is scheduled to arrive in town on Sunday afternoon. Members will do projects from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The group will also host a children’s club and work at a nursing home and the Community Kitchen.

Most of the volunteers are from youth groups and many have worked with Kingdom Builders before, Thompson said. They’re coming from Hopkinsville and Georgia.

The group will also be training on Sunday. It will set up booths at Boyd County Middle School to make sure volunteers know how to use equipment properly, Thompson said. Adult volunteers will supervise the work.

Assistant Principal David Trimble said the group will sleep in BCMS classrooms, shower in locker rooms and eat in the cafeteria.

“Our attitude is always to open our facilities up to the community as much as we can,” Trimble said.

Kingdom Builders is based in Statesboro, Ga. This is its 10th year of ministry.

KATIE BRANDENBURG can be reached at kbrandenburg@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2657.