Welcome home signs are tied to telephone poles along Main Street in Ridgefield, and last night at about 6:30 pm, lead by police escort, a long caravan of vans containing happy (and tired) area residents made their way into the Jesse Lee Church parking lot.
Now in its 32nd year, Jesse Lee's Appalachia Service Project (ASP) carted a record 183 volunteers in 26 vans and SUV's to the hills of Tennessee last week. Crews of two adults and four or five students teamed up to repair, build or replace roofs, foundations, floors, interior walls and wheelchair ramps, while also developing relationships with the homes’ residents.
The volunteers included eight graduating seniors who have participated in ASP all four years: Evan Bloch, Melissa Carpenter, Max Day, Ryan Looney, Heather Nichols, Alex Sabido and Caroline Treschitta, all of Ridgefield High School; and Dan Hackworth of Redding, of Links Academy.