By ANDREW MARTIN
Driving up to Susanne and Earl Jenks’ home last week might have led you to believe there was a party going on every afternoon. Four teens dressed in shorts and T-shirts could be seen walking around outside with the radio blaring in the background.
But a closer look showed that these kids were there for another purpose. With plenty of paint, brushes and tools, the crew and their adult leader Donna Yeager, of Maryland, were fixing up the Jenks home located in Richmond’s Hillsdale Housing Cooperative.
Yeager and the teenagers were there as part of the Narragansett Bay Workcamp, a faith-based community service project designed to help seniors, people with disabilities and low-income Rhode Islanders.
From June 30 to July 4, 65 work crews including youths from all over the East Cost repaired homes in North Kingstown, Coventry, Exeter and other communities around the state. When the teens weren’t working, they were ‘home’ at the Davisville Middle School in North Kingstown, where the program’s staff, crew, volunteers and residents held a closing event.
At the Richmond home, the group spent much of their time painting, doing various odd jobs and putting up a new railing along the side of the house. Most days began at 9 a.m. and last until 3 or 3:30 p.m., except for Wednesday. The kids were given a half-day mid-week so they could take a breather and enjoy the area with their youth group.
The four teens working with Yeager were Joey Scarmack, 16, of New Jersey; Meghan Pursely, 15, and Madison Lidonnie, 18, of Massachusetts; and Lauren Price, 15, of Pennsylvania. Scarmack, who has been in the program for three years, never planned on attending the workcamp. But he got the chance to take the trip when someone else dropped out. And he has been active ever since. He was singing the Jenks’ praises, saying how great it had been to help them.
“They opened their home to us and treat us like they’ve known us forever,” Scarmack said while painting a shed. His co-worker on that project was Pursely, a first time workcamper. She joined the program after hearing how great
it was from others in her congregation; plus, she needed the community service hours for her confirmation. She also echoed many of Scarmack’s comments about the couple.
Besides working to improve the Jenks’ home, the teens helped out in another way. “Earl has had a wonderful time with them,” Susanne said of her husband making the rounds to see what the crew was doing. “It’s uplifting for us to have them around.”
The couple also joined the workcampers during their devotions. Susanne said that someone would do a spontaneous prayer and sometimes they would all read passages from the Bible. And they all took pictures together, too. There was plenty of unexpected excitement, too. A cat and her kittens were found roaming the Jenks’ yard, which prompted a call to the ASPCA. There was also a problem with one of the neighbors, but Susanne didn’t want to discuss that any further.
Susanne said she found out about the program from a friend at First Baptist Church in Wickford. She and her husband lived in that town before moving to Richmond in 1985. “My friend noticed the applications so she sent one in the mail to me. I looked it over and thought we would give it a shot,” she explained.
After a phone call and a quick look to see what work had to be done, the Jenks’ application was approved. If the same service is available next year, Susanne said she would definitely apply again. Susanne made it clear that she and her husband were very appreciative of the work being done. “When you can’t do it yourself, it’s just so overwhelming,” she said.
Earl, who has trouble speaking because of a tracheotomy, showed the same respect in writing, which his wife said is how he typically communicates. “As ye sow so shall you reap. I have devoted my life to others. Now is the return,” he wrote, signing the piece of paper: ‘Rev. Earl.’
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