SERVICE
D
By Elizabeth James
riving down the backroads of McCreary County, Ky., you will most certainly come across a few things. You will observe the beautiful wildlife and nature that surround what many people here call home. If you stop for directions, you will be met with kind faces and helpful people. And if you travel far enough from the main roads, you will likely see the signs of poverty. At its heart, Appalachia is a vision of starkly contrasting beauty and brokenness. The people here are strong and humble, but the struggle to survive and thrive in this region is significant. Two people attempting to lend a hand in this struggle are long-term housing volunteers Janean Shedd and Vinnie Birch. Currently, the duo are hard at work in the yard of Thomas and Sara. This elderly couple’s home has a laundry list of repair needs, and ever since the housing crew leader on this site suffered an injury at home, Janean and Vinnie have been tasked with addressing the home repairs on their own. From the moment the sun rises each day, Janean and Vinnie work tirelessly to build a deck, stairs, and a ramp for Thomas and Sara’s home. Observing their interactions throughout the day, it becomes immediately evident that these volunteers consider the participants as family. Their
love and respect for this couple influences everything they do—from their consideration for Thomas’ safety as they choose materials for the ramp to the conversations and laughter they share over lunch in the yard. For now, this region is Janean and Vinnie’s home and the folks they’re assisting, like Thomas and Sara, are their neighbors. There is still much work to be done on this home, but Janean and Vinnie are committed to finishing this project for the sake of their new friends. Janean Shedd is from Ashburnham, Mass. She came to Christian Appalachian Project (CAP) with the desire to serve others. During college, she wanted to attend CAP’s WorkFest but never had the chance. After graduating, she volunteered for a year of service in St. Louis with the Vincentian Service Corps. Janean realized at the completion of that year that she wasn’t ready for her volunteering days to be over. “CAP was still on my radar at that point. I was already doing housing repair work on the weekends, and I felt called to serve in a more rural setting, so CAP seemed like the perfect fit!” Her first long-term stint was from 2010 to 2011, and when this service year ended she immediately began to devise a plan to return. She was back for a couple of months in the summer of 2013, and then again this past
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