FAIRFIELD COUNTY – Fairfield Salkehatchie volunteers worked on four homes in the county from July 13-20. Two of the homes were near Ridgeway, one near Blackstock, and one in the Blair area.
Thirty-five teens and adults volunteered to endure the heat and humidity to repair these homes of citizens in need of a helping hand.
Again, this year the camp was led by Frank Gravely of Fort Mill and his wife Dee Gravely, veterans of Fairfield Salkehatchie camps for several decades. Volunteers from around the state, Florida, and New Jersey donated their time and paid their way to help out.
They were accommodated at the Family Life Center of the First Baptist Church of Winnsboro where breakfast every morning by the Men’s and Women’s Clubs of the First United Methodist Church, and the Winnsboro Lions Club. Volunteers from those organizations served as cooks. Other churches provide the noon meals. Evening meals were provided by various organizations and the Salkehatchie fees collected from the volunteers and their sponsors.
“We were able to work on four homes, replacing roofs first, as a leaking roof makes any other improvement efforts futile,” Camp Director Frank Gravely said. He noted that there were at least one hundred homes on his list of needing improvements.
On Tuesday, Rev. John Culp addressed the volunteers during lunch and emphasized how important word of mouth is in recruiting new volunteers each summer for the forty-plus Salkehatchie camps throughout the state. He also spoke to participants’ service as love in action and a meaningful expression of our Christian faith.
Rev. Culp founded the first camp in 1978 while serving a church in Hampton County.
Gravely expressed appreciation to Fairfield Electric Cooperative’s Round-Up program.
“Fairfield Electric Cooperative has been a faithful and generous supporter of our Fairfield Salkehatchie camp for many years,” Gravely said.