MVL BUILD IMG_6985.JPG
W. Scott Johnson, of the Gayton Baptist Church of Richmond, Virginia's Toolbox Ministries program shakes the hand of Millville resident Ervin Daniels as high school students fix the roof of Daniels' home on Thursday, July 24, 2014 (Staff Photo By Don E. Woods | South Jersey Times)
(Don Woods)
Spencer Steward, 16, and Sam Jessee, 17, work on painting the trim of Ervin Daniels' roof on Thursday, July 24, 2014, as a part of Gayton Baptist Church of Richmond, Virginia's Toolbox Ministries program in Millville. (Staff Photo By Don E. Woods | South Jersey Times)
MILLVILLE — For one week a year during the summer, members of the Gayton Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia, travel around the country fixing up homes.
They have been to Missouri, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, New York, West Virginia, Florida and Mississippi for the past 10 years with Toolbox Ministries.
The program has now brought those handy high school student volunteers to Millville to fix roofs, paint houses and fix decks.
"We're working with good people and for good people," said Chandler Harris, 19.
On Thursday afternoon, the high school students were replacing shingles on Ervin Daniels' roof.
"You've got to give something back and it's always fun to teach kids a lot of the construction trades and expose them to opportunities to help people who are less fortunate," said W. Scott Johnson, a construction leader for Toolbox Ministries.
Some of the students have been a part of the church's mission trips for multiple years, like Coleman Callaway, 17, and Tommy Burgess, 17, who are able to load a nail gun, strip the roof and lay down shingles themselves. Coleman and Tommy have even been able to help some of the other boys learn how to do the work.
"They're learning a skill and I think it builds self confidence," Johnson said. "It's not every high schooler that can take a nail gun and go on a roof."
Daniels, the owner of the home being worked on, is an 82-year-old Korean War veteran. He moved to Millville 35 years ago and is retired from working as an air traffic controller at the Millville Municipal Airport.
Toolbox Ministries favors veterans when they go over applications and, when Daniels found out last month that his application was accepted to have work done on his home, he was thankful.
"I was happy as I could be because it's a big job," he said. "My roof was in bad
High school students from the Gayton Baptist Church of Richmond, Virginia's Toolbox Ministries program fix Ervin Daniels' roof on Thursday, July 24, 2014 in Millville. (Staff Photo By Don E. Woods | South Jersey Times)
shape and I'd have to get in debt to really do the work."
Each morning, Daniels prays with the church group as a way to thank them and God for the work being done.
Before the volunteers came to fix the roof, shingles had been blown off and the ones underneath were damaged.
"It was old," Daniels said. "It was time."
One of the members of Gayton Baptist Church, Bill Nayda, is originally from Millville and worked with the city to bring Toolbox Ministries to the Holly City.
Nayda worked with Commissioner Lynne Porreca Compari on bringing the 60 high school students to Millville to work on the 19 projects — amounting to at least $75,000 in work.
"They really did a service to the veterans and the family of veterans in our town," Porreca Compari said.
Through their work, according to the commissioner, the town has come together.
"It was good to have the whole city united for a change and doing something good for the city," she said.
Far from Virginia, the church members are staying at Holly Heights Elementary School. Dinners have been supplied by area organizations like the Elks Lodge and the Millville Fire Department.
"The people have been wonderful," Johnson said. "The idea of southern hospitality is alive and well in Millville."
Thursday's overcast sky was a welcome relief for the volunteers who have been working on the roof. Earlier this week — as the students worked on the roof — the sun beat down on them.
As a cool treat, Daniels gave them popsicles.
The teenagers can sit comfortably on the roof, unafraid of heights, except for the occasional problem.
"When you slip, you get a little mini-heart attack," said Same Jessee, 17.
Along with Daniels' roof, work teams have been at 17 other sites in Millville.
Working together on the roof, though, has led to a strong bond between the teenagers at Daniels' house.
"We love each other," said Spencer Stewart, 16. "We're like brothers."
"They're a good team," said Cary Wimbish, a church chaperone who was helping on the roof.
---
Don E. Woods can be reached at dwoods@southjerseymedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @donewoods1. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.