VOLUNTEER
Impact by j o h n fei s ter
In the wake of a devastating flood, Glenmary volunteers reunite to help build a house. They've lived lives of mercy.
W
Photos by John Feister
hen Wilma Combs drove up the mountain hollow in Breathitt County, Eastern Kentucky, on September 26, she must have taken a deep breath. Her prayers were being answered. A construction crew, joined by a group of older volunteers, was raising the walls of her new home. The volunteers this week were together for a working reunion of friends who first volunteered in Appalachia with Glenmary in the 1970s. “We were trying to just figure out what we were going to do,” homeowner Wilma recalls. Her old home, like thousands in the region, was destroyed by historic flooding in July 2022. She, her husband, and four
ABOVE: Chuck Garven supports a wall as the house goes up. Volunteering with Glenmary helped shape his life. 6
GLENMARY CHALLENGE
g l e n m a r y. o r g
The volunteers this week were together for a working reunion of friends who first volunteered in Appalachia with Glenmary in the 1970s.