Helping Hands of the Potomac Highlands is looking for people who need help with home repairs or even yard work.
An annual church-sponsored project, Helping Hands is an arm of the Keyser Area Ministerial Association, and has been in operation for 11 years.
Under the program, work groups from churches outside the area visit the Highlands region and spend a week or so here, volunteering their time and talent to work on home projects. Teams typically consist of eight to 10 volunteer workers, but the groups can have as many as 35 members. Local church members do their part by providing food and lodging for the teams.
Helping Hands serves as a liaison between the work groups and the residents who are having the work done.
A non-profit organization, Helping Hands receives funding through the United Way, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and private donations.
We applaud the ministerial association for coordinating this much-needed, and much-appreciated yearly program.
Dana Redman, a Helping Hands volunteer, said everyone involved in the program has a “passion” for the work. That enthusiasm and commitment is evident in the program’s 11-year track record. Home-repair programs of this sort are usually sponsored by local church groups, and the spiritual element contributes immensely to their success. Called by their faith to do good works, Helping Hands volunteers are doing just that. Their work not only betters the lives of our less-fortunate neighbors here in Mineral County, it also improves the community as a whole.
Virtually anyone who needs help with work around their home is accepted into the program. To apply, visit the Helping Hands office at 450 Virginia St. in Keyser, or call ( 304) 788-0110. Pastor Bill Linhart of Calvary United Methodist Church in Keyser is the Helping Hands coordinator for the ministerial association.
Donations to help continue this worthwhile program are always welcome.