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Workcamp is a faith-based,
non-profit event where kids from around the United States come to a
community to do home renovation projects. Group Mission Trips, out
of Fort Collins, Colorado, is the group that oversees these
projects. Group Mission Trips partners with local individuals to get
projects organized.
Lincoln local, and West Lincoln Broadwell teacher, Todd Henry was
one of two co-organizers for Workcamp for Lincoln. Workcamp sees
kids going to many different homes in Lincoln and the wider Logan
County area. This year’s Workcamp for Lincoln is the third such
event, with over 300 individuals, from kids to adult volunteers,
working in the area. The last two were in 2021 and 2024.
This year, the kids came in on Sunday, June 21st and will be leaving
on Saturday, June 27th. During the week-long event, kids and their
adult supervisors do things from painting to building wheelchair
ramps.
LDN had the opportunity to go on a tour to three Lincoln homes that
are being renovated. Henry and his co-organizer Brad Hilliard met
several Lincoln and Logan County leaders at Guest House coffee at 9
a.m. on Thursday, June 25th. These local leaders included County
Board members Kathy Schmidt and Kevin Knauer, as well as Lincoln
Aldermen Dennis Clemmons and Tim Becke. Henry was kind enough to buy
the group coffee and pastries from the cafe.
After everyone got their order,
Henry walked them across the street to the Logan County Courthouse.
They stood on the grounds of the courthouse where he and Hilliard
talked to the group about Workcamp for Lincoln and answered some
questions.
Henry informed everyone that this was his 26th year with Group
Mission Trips, and that he and Hilliard are assistant directors. He
shared that the kids are staying at Opens Arms, formerly Lincoln
Christian University (LCU). In 2021 LCU allowed them to use the dorm
rooms for the week they were there and Open Arms continued working
with the group after they purchased the property.
This year, they are working on between 30 and 40 properties in
Lincoln, Mt Pulaski, New Holland/Middletown, Latham, and Atlanta.
Each property has a team of six, one adult and five youth. Henry
shared that the Thursday of Workcamp is usually the day he starts
getting nervous, as some properties may be behind schedule. This
time, however, not only had a lot of the kids gone on a Workcamp
trip before, but many of the adults had experience in different
trades, making the work go faster and smoother. In fact, Henry said
he had to come up with more work for some of the groups due to their
swiftness and efficiency.
Hilliard then shared a bit more
about the faith-based aspect of their work. He said that the adults
at each site are devotion leaders and do devotionals with the kids
after each day of work. He shared that a lot of neighbors and
community members have been coming around and thanking the various
groups for their work. By the end of the week, Hilliard said, each
group is “like family.”
The group then traveled a few
blocks down to Pekin Street, where Reverend Glenn Shelton and his
wife Ginger Shelton live. This group was doing a lot of painting,
with ladders propped up against the house. Later that day, a lift
was going to be brought in to help the kids get access to the higher
portions of the house they could not safely reach with ladders.
The young workers were very
welcoming to the group, with some of them walking over and
introducing themselves. Many were from other states, with some from
Michigan and others from Missouri and Oklahoma.
The Sheltons spoke about the kids,
with Ginger calling them the “most wonderful young people.” She
spoke on how kind and loving the kids had been, saying that she
“never met a group of young people like this.” Glenn stated that
these kids had made the house theirs, saying that they had become
very comfortable with the Sheltons and their home, but were also
very respectful.
Teague, one of the young workers at
the site, spoke a bit on his experience with Workcamp for Lincoln.
Teague shared that he is from Winnebago, Illinois and that this was
his first time with any Workcamp. He was told by his cousins that it
was really fun and so decided to give it a try himself. “It has been
fun so far,” said Teague. He would go again if given the
opportunity.
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All Workcamp workers are given
a day off during their week. Teague shared that, during their
time off, his group went to the VIP Lincoln Grand Theater to see
Toy Story 5 and then went to Logan Lanes after to bowl. Teague
shared that he has learned how to “properly paint walls,” having
not had many renovation skills before Workcamp for Lincoln.
The group then left the Shelton’s
property to move on to a property on Grand Avenue, where the Turner
family was also having their home painted. Homeowner Tyler Turner
shared that, with the siding looking the way it did, he was sure
that they were going to have to pay to replace it. When he was
offered to have the siding painted, however, he decided to jump at
the opportunity. He said that the kids were wonderful and were doing
great work. Turner had a young two-year old that many of the kids
were quite taken with, interacting and playing with him between
painting.
Harper Davis, of Broken Arrow,
Oklahoma, was one of the young people working at this property.
Davis is a veteran to Workcamp, sharing that this is her sixth one,
but her first time in Lincoln. “I keep coming back because I love
getting to make an impact on people all across the United States,”
Davis said. “I think it’s also a better way to spend my summer… I’d
rather take the time, take a week out of the summer, to come make an
impact on other people.”
On her day off, Davis shared that her church went to Malibu Jack’s
in Springfield. She shared that, in addition to having done painting
one other time, she has learned more about carpentry from her
previous Workcamp experiences. While she has not learned anything
new on this Workcamp trip, she feels that she has grown more in her
faith during this time.
The group then took one last trip
to Feldman drive, where there were two teams working together to
build a wheelchair ramp. The adult leader at this site was Pastor
Dan. Henry shared that he was a tradesman and has been really good
at teaching the kids skills. Dan shared that he has been showing the
kids how to do something once, and then letting them do it for
themselves, helping them if they need it.
Dan spoke on the diversity of
denominations that had come to Workcamp for Lincoln. He said that
there were Catholics, Methodists, Lutherans, Baptists, and many
others. What stood out to him was the fact that even though they
were from so many different faith backgrounds, they were all able to
put their differences aside to work together toward the common goal
of helping people.
Sara, from Plainfield, Illinois,
was one of the young individuals working at this site. When asked
why she chose to be a part of Workcamp, Sara said “it’s a really
beautiful thing to help people, and I love making people happy and
making everyone’s lives better. It’s a really good feeling when you
finish the project and the resident is always happy afterward.”
Sara shared that this was her
second Workcamp experience, but also her first time in Lincoln. She
said she would do Workcamp many more times. Sara said her group also
went to Malibu Jack’s on their day off.
Sara shared that she has a lot of painting skills and some basic
building skills. At this site, however, she learned about installing
larger bolts, using a square for angles, and decking.
Before leaving, Henry spoke to the leaders, sharing that the work
they are able to do often measures into the hundreds of thousands of
dollars, considering man hours and materials, with many of the
families not being able to afford that amount on their own. Workcamp
for Lincoln will be leaving town Saturday, June 27th, after another
very successful year of home renovation projects.
Workcamp for Lincoln photo slideshow
[Matt Boutcher] |
