400 volunteer youths heading to Fayette County
July 4, 2012 ·
Just as power and water are partially restored to portions of West Virginia, 400 high school youth from throughout the U.S. will be on hand beginning this weekend to help with relief efforts in Fayette County.
The volunteers were previously
scheduled to arrive for the annual work camp and home repair program sponsored
by the Southern Appalachian Labor School in Oak Hill. John David with the school says conditions
improved just in time for their arrival.
“We have a couple of refrigerated trailers so food that we
have brought in can be stored that way,” David explained.
"At the historic Oak
Hill School
in Oak Hill power has been restored as of yesterday and water has been turned
on so the showers and the electricity issues are there. We are thankful that the National Guard
showed up today with a food trailer and they’ll stay probably as long as needed
and they’ll probably move that trailer around the county perhaps to Page and
Beards Fork and other places tomorrow and the next few days. That’s part of the experience of trying to
help people. You have to join in under
the circumstances where they’re at.”
Another 400 volunteers will be arriving in two weeks. They’ll stay at Riverside
High School in Quincy
to assist in the Upper Kanawha
Valley. The youths are part of a faith based effort
to repair the homes of low income familes.