RETURNING YOUTH VOLUNTEERS !

So you liked sleeping on the floor, working in the rain or hot sun, and taking cold showers?
And the mystery meat didn't scare you off?
Well then, welcome back! We really rely on our experienced youth to round out the crews and help the first-timers get up to speed.
​Thank you for your dedication to the Friends of Appalachia Mission!

FOA's 14th Anniversary Trip
      June 28th - July 6th 2025
      Central Appalachia 
​Meetings will be held at Trumbull Congregational Church
​Sundays 6:00-7:30pm          see Calendar Tab FMI

Returning YOUTH APPLICATIONare closed FOR THE FOA2025 TRIP -

 ASP Volunteer Statement and Registration Form - due may 1

ASP EXPECTATIONS, RULES, AND REGULATIONS - required reading

• INDIVIDUAL PACKING LIST

GROUP/CREW PACKING LIST

SOLICITATION LETTER

Welcome back!

We really rely on our experienced youth to round out the crews and help the first-timers get up to speed. Thank you for your dedication to the Appalachia Service Project! We are so happy your considering transforming lives in Central Appalachia again!

​Applications for Returning Participants will open in January. the link will stay open for 3 weeks to give Returning Participants a chance to apply.
If there are any spots opened after the 3 weeks, the link for the New Participants will open and remain open until we are full, which usually takes a day.
Volunteer Registration form is due prior to May 1st. 
 
Important Application Information
Application links will open December 3rd 9pm.
ALL applications must be submitted by December 7th at 6pm - however the link may close sooner if  we reach our maximum.  
Please note there are 2 applications NEW and REPEAT, please fill out the appropriate one. 
FOA Selection Committee will be reviewing applications as a whole, regardless of past trip experience,
so take your time filling out the application and focus on submitting the best possible application you can. 
There is no waiting list.

Registration Fees and Required Forms
The cost of participation in the Friends of Appalachia 2025 Trip is $1000.
​The Application/Commitment fee of $150.
After the $150 application fee is paid, and you are accepted, you will receive your own QR Code to use for donations for your own account.
By March 1st a required minimum of $350 must be in your account. 
 The minimum $1000 must be paid in full prior to our May Meeting. 
All donations can be made by sharing your QR Code with others to donate to your trip account.
Checks can be made payable to "FOA" and brought to any event/meeting.
Trip amounts are to be paid in full in May. Monies received in June or later will be added to our General Fund.   

Please click on the "Solicitation Letter" black box above on the this page.
​You can edit this document and send to family and friends for donations to you account. 

Application fee of $150 must be submitted with your application. Donations into participants accounts are non-refundable. 

2025 Trip Amount - $1000 
$1300 Club - entitles you to an extra FOA gift and input on an extra purchase for your work site home,
​$1500 Club - entitles you to 2 extra FOA gifts and input on an extra purchase for your work site home,

Trip Preparation Meetings
All ASP volunteers are required to attend and participate in all of our pre-trip meetings, community help opportunities, solicitations and fundraisers.  Please click CALENDAR tab above.

Basic Construction Skills Training 
In the Monthly Meeting Notice - IF Construction Training is on the agenda, everyone needs to wear proper work site attire: long pants, a shirt that tucks in (no sleeveless shirts; no low necklines), work boots (no sneakers). Participants with improper attire will not be able to participate. Instruction includes supervised individual practice on the safe use of the circular saw, power drill and hammer among other skills. Everyone will need to bring a "Construction Bag" to that meeting that includes a 16 oz. hammer, a pair of safety glasses, and a pair of work gloves. Be sure to mark your name on your tool bag and tools that you bring, because they will tend to look a lot like somebody else's.
​The same consideration might be given to your work boots.

​Expectations during the Trip and at the Work Site
Volunteers participating in Friends of Appalachia Trip will be expected to be involved in specific home building and repair projects. These projects can include activities such as roofing, carpentry, sheet rocking (drywall), digging, building steps, footers and piers, plumbing, insulating, painting, flooring, masonry, electrical wiring and other facets of home repair, remodeling and renovation. These activities include, but are not limited to, the use of power tools such as saws and drills as well as the use of hand tools. These activities will also require climbing, with or without supplies, tools and materials, as well as working in high places such as rooftops, small or confined spaces such as crawlspaces, and other facets of construction work. These activities may be done in any type of setting, including remote, rural, urban, small and large towns. 
You will be expected to work hard. But you will be able to do it!

Each participant is assigned to a particular work crew, a mix of age, gender and experience.
​a crew is made up of approx 5 Youth and 2 Adult Advisors. 

You are guaranteed to make new friends! 

What happens on the Trip?
On Saturday June 28th,  all participants meet at 6:15am. Our fleet of vehicles will drive to Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg VA, for our first night of the trip in the college dorms. 

On Sunday, June 29th, after morning devotions together, we continue to our ASP assigned County. 
From Monday to Friday (June 30th - July 4th), we will begin each day with breakfast and devotions, work on our homes from 8am-4pm, and then be back together in the evening for free time, dinner, chores, and "evening gathering".
​
On Saturday, July 5th about 7am we will leave our center and return to EMU.
On Sunday July 6th , we will leave EMU and drive home to Trumbull arriving approximately 4pm. We will then have our Family Picnic (Unity Park) to celebrate our Week of Work and Fellowship. 

Packing and Departing
​The success of the ASP trip is highly dependent on proper preparation, and that is true for packing. Every participant should download the packing list and follow the instructions very carefully. Please click on the Individual Packing box at the top of this page.