MOBILE, Ala. — More than 200 young volunteers fanned out across Africatown this week, scraping, painting and re-roofing homes for homeowners who could not afford the work themselves.
The effort is part of Mission Serve, a program that unites church youth groups from states including Georgia, Illinois, Florida and North Carolina. Before work began Monday morning, the crews gathered for prayer, then split off to several houses around the historic community.
New skills and a bigger purpose
For many of the teenagers, the trip doubles as a first introduction to trades like roofing. Volunteers traveling from Jacksonville, Florida said they came both to help the community and to grow in their faith.
Chris Gillespie of Deermeadows Baptist Church, one of the participating congregations, said the lasting impact is on the homeowners themselves — people who cannot afford a new roof or a paint job receive it at no cost.
City helps steer the effort
Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson greeted volunteers as they started work. The city helps coordinate visiting volunteer groups, directing them to homeowners who apply for assistance. Stimpson noted that this same group had planned to come a year earlier but the trip was canceled because of COVID-19.
Organizers called this one of the largest volunteer efforts to visit Mobile so far this year.