New and returning high-school teens and adults interested in participating in the 2018 Jesse Lee Appalachia Service Project should plan to attend one of two upcoming kick-off rallies at Jesse Lee Memorial United Methodist Church.
Jesse Lee ASP’s 2018 rallies will be held on Wed., Feb. 21 and Tues., Feb. 27 at the church, 207 Main St. You only need to attend one. Both are from 6:30 to 9 p.m. in Martin Hall, in the lower level of the church’s main sanctuary building.
Details will be presented about participating in this year’s trip, set for June 30-July 8. Parents of new youth can stay and get their questions answered in separate informational sessions during the Feb. 21 and 27 rallies.
Appalachia Service Project is a national Christian ministry that sends volunteers on weeklong mission trips to make homes “warmer, safer and drier” in West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina.
Now in its 35th year, Jesse Lee ASP is the second-largest ASP group in the U.S. Last summer, a record 199 local students and adults worked to restore the homes (and hope) of folks in four counties in West Virginia, Virginia and Kentucky.
Jesse Lee ASP is open to anyone who will have completed their freshman year of high school by the time of the summer mission trip. Adults are encouraged to volunteer – both those who have teens coming along and those who don’t. You don’t have to be a member of Jesse Lee or any church, you don’t have to live in Ridgefield, and you don’t need to be an expert with a hammer to volunteer. Basic construction skills and safety rules are taught prior to going on ASP.
Plus, the sooner you register, the less you pay. Registration at a rally is $250. Pay at the first orientation meetings (March 21 or 27), it’s $265, with the cost rising to $290 after that.
For more information about ASP and to download required forms, go online to www.jesseleeasp.org.