Appalachia Service Project

Description

Appalachia Service Project is a Christian ministry, open to all people, that inspires hope and service through volunteer home repair in Central Appalachia.

Appalachia Service Project’s vision is that substandard housing in Central Appalachia will be eradicated and that everyone who comes into contact with this ministry will be transformed.

History

In 1969, Rev. Glenn “Tex” Evans — a United Methodist minister — became one of the first people to connect the energy of youth with the deep needs of the poor.

During Tex’s 13 years as director at Henderson Settlement in Frakes, Kentucky, he witnessed the great need for home repair assistance. So as part of his already-thriving outreach to the people of Appalachia, he recruited 50 teens and adult volunteers to repair homes in Barbourville, Kentucky. They worked on-site during the day and worshiped in the evenings. By summer’s end, four families had safe, warm homes for the winter, fifty young lives had been changed forever — and a forty-seven-year-long legacy was born.

Since 1969, 377,412 volunteers from across the nation have repaired 17,373 homes and, in the process, Appalachian families, volunteers, and staff have been immeasurably blessed.