State-Journal.com - Family gets a new roof thanks to volunteer teens

Photo By State Journal/Kelly MackeyKentucky Changers Austin Turex, 15, and Caleb Kirby, 15, cut a board as they re-roof a house on Myrtle Avenue.

Photo By State Journal/Kelly MackeyColby Chester, 15, helps re-roof a house on Myrtle Avenue. Chester is part of the Kentucky Changers, a group of teenagers on a weeklong summer mission.

The house at 123 Myrtle Ave. badly needed a new roof. A blue tarp recently covered a gaping hole.

Now, thanks to 15 high school students, the tarp has been replaced by black roofing tiles.

A sign duct taped to a tree in the yard proclaimed that the Kentucky Changers volunteered the work.

“We’re doing this for the glory of God,” Maribeth Milburn, 18, said. “Jesus said, ‘Whatever you do unto the least of these, you do unto me.’ There’s no better way I could spend my summer than serving those in need.”

The Baptist high school volunteers from Kentucky and nearby states sign up for weeklong sessions during the summer and fix home exteriors. The Kentucky Baptist Convention in Louisville established the group in 1994.

The hole in the Myrtle Avenue home was a zoning violation. Rather than condemn buildings like this, city officials worked alongside the Changers to bring a few up to code.

Six other houses on Fifth Avenue, Holmes Street, Benson Avenue and Owenton Avenue are on the Changers’ to-fix list and are near completion.

Robert Engle, code enforcement supervisor for the city, and Philip Ritchey, service core missionary for the Changers, went from house-to-house starting in March talking to selected homeowners about the project.

“While I was talking to the homeowners, Robert was making a materials list,” Ritchey said.

The project is a win-win for homeowners according to Ritchey. They don’t have to pay a dime, and their homes are repaired in compliance with building codes, he said.

The city furnishes building materials, according to Engle.

The Changers are staying in Anderson County High School because of a tight budget. Anderson County is convenient for them to serve Franklin, Anderson and Mercer counties.

This week, 350 students are participating in renovation projects throughout the three counties.

Transportation is difficult for the groups, because the Kentucky Baptist Convention’s insurance prohibits them from traveling in 15-passenger vans that might flip.

“We get a lot of churches that let us borrow their vehicles, but they’re almost always 15-passenger vans,” Ritchey said. “We’ve had to use smaller vans and busses to get teams around.”

The Changers will get a chance to meet the homeowners tonight at a worship service at Sand Spring Baptist Church in Lawrenceburg. Several Frankfort-area churches are invited as well. For the last week, members of Baptist churches in the city have prepared box lunches for the students.

Students pay $200 per week to participate in the program.

“I can’t go anywhere else or do anything else and get the same feeling,” Laura Gover, 18, said. “I can’t describe the feelings I get when I’m working for others. I get a lot out of it.”

1.	Posted by jrb1952 July 3, 2009
	Before everyone starts to call me a non-caring SOB... which I may well be...first let me say that I certainly applaud the work being performed by this youth ministry and trust that they will continue their ministry. However,.... how can the city of Frankfort... which is supposedly so broke that it cannot afford to honor its commitment to its most senior employees.. afford to buy the materials for this project at a cost of "...not one DIME to the homeowner"? Also, I ASSUME this house is part of a non-profit organization, since the city cannot improve the value of a private citizen's property. (Just ask some the city officals in who are currently receiving 3 free meals a day along with room and board..in county jails.) Has the city placed a lien on the property to recoup the cost at some time down the road. Did the State Journal check to see who the owner of this home is or ask why they couldn't...or wouldn't...keep the house up to livable standards. This house has been an eyesore for a LONG time! By the way, I recently had a roof put on my house... would the city write me a check for the cost of the materials. I will gladly absorb the cost of the labor. Or do I need to put a blue tarp over my roof first. Like I said up front, I know I am a non-caring SOB... but I would still like to have some answers from our city officials.