The Appalachia Service Project is about helping people help them selves. ASP helps underprivileged families in Appalachia. We do repairs on houses like fix leaky roofs, install a septic tank, insulate walls, or build a porch. But it doesn't stop there. We also build relationships, and help renew their spirit. An hour or more each day is spent with the family you work for. Often times you'll spend the whole day with the family, because although they do not have to, many will help with the work.
An ASP volunteer gives up a week of their summer to go to Appalachia, live in
a school building, sleep on the floor, walk across the street for cold showers,
eat cafeteria meals, and work on some one's house for free. Actually not for
free, it cost's about $80 a person to go.
Sound like a reform program for criminals? :) That's cause you've never
been there. It is actually loads of fun, you'll meet new people, you get to help
people who would otherwise have a potentially crappy summer. And hey, we all
need a cold shower sometimes. :)
Your day will start a 6 in the morning. You get up and get dressed. By 6:30
everyone gathers for morning devotionals. At 7:00 breakfast is served. Breakfast
is about an hour then you leave for the work sight. You work at the sight until
4:00, with an hour for lunch in there. Then you head back to the center. Now you
take a shower, change, mess around. Whatever you want until 6:00. Then dinner is
served. After that you get some more free time until about 8:00 then we have an
evening gathering. We reflect on what we did during the day, plan for tomorrow,
have skits, sing songs, and have fun. Every on is in bed by 10:00, lights out at
11:00. (or 12:00 depends on how well you've sucked up to the councilors.) It's
really not that bad. Hey if that Clinton girl can do it, anybody can. (I'm
serious about this, she was at the same center as me last summer. Just the week
before I got there.)
Staff are the brave souls who give up their whole summer to run the centers,
and put up with annoying kids like me all summer. Seeing a different set of
faces every week. Keeping all the supplies and tools in order. Coming up with
ways to entertain kids with an attention span of 10 minutes.
As scary as it sounds I want to do this next year. For more about staff you can
write to one of my staff from last year: Angela Kileff (kileffaj@ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu)
Well you can mail the people in charge of the project at.
Information Appalachia Service Project 4523 Bristol Highway Johnson City, TN 37601 USA
or you can E-mail me or other ASPers with questions.
Lewis "Zen Master" Miller (lewis.miller@usa.net)
Daryl "Muppet" Anderson Jr.(darylandersonjr@mindspring.com )
Jenni Honeycutt(jlhoneyc@cs1.presby.edu)
Melinda Graber(ergraber@pol.net)
Katrina Miller(sexy.kat1@juno.com)
or you can visit my New ASP page and see some of last year.
