Hamilton Herald Masthead

Editorial


Front Page - Friday, July 14, 2017

Chattanooga welcomes volunteers for home repair program




Catherine Cox of McGeHee, Arkansas, sands a handrail built by a World Changers volunteer crew this week at a North Chamberlain Avenue home. - Photograph by David Laprad

More than 300 volunteers arrived in Chattanooga last weekend to tackle 35 projects across the city as part of the Summer Home Repair Program – a partnership between the City of Chattanooga’s Department of Economic and Community Development and World Changers.

The volunteers are completing a variety of home repair projects for families throughout the city who are low-income, disabled or elderly.

Through July 21, World Changers volunteers will be replacing floors, building wheelchair ramps, painting and more.

World Changers is a home repair ministry of the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist and Lifeway Student Ministries – and many of the volunteers are youth. For more than a decade, the volunteers have been hosted in Chattanooga by Brainerd Baptist Church, which provides lodging and meals.

Volunteers travel to Chattanooga from all over the country.

This year, ECD received 64 applications for assistance through the Summer Home Repair Program and approved 35 projects. The City of Chattanooga provides the construction and repair materials like paint, lumber and tools, while World Changers provide the volunteer labor to complete each project.

While the Summer Home Repair Program application period has closed, ECD accepts applications on a rolling basis for the Minor Home Repair Program. Interested homeowners can learn more about eligibility and requirements and download an application at www.chattanooga.gov/economic-community-development/community-development.

Source: City of Chattanooga