Work Campers Lend a Hand at Local Homes

Hundreds of teenagers from around the country came to the Odenton and Crofton area last week to help perform home repairs to those in need. 

The campers worked on dozens of homes throughout west Anne Arundel County, teaming up in groups of six in a program hosted by local churches. 

About a dozen came to the home of Arlene Griswold-Matys in Gambrills, performing repairs to her bathrooms and painting both inside and out. 

"I had these 12 shiny faces, all full of smiles and all ready to work," she said. "They've been such a blessing, it's been great."

The Chesapeake Bay Work Camp 2013 was sponsored by several local churches including St. Joseph's Catholic Church and Nichols-Bethel United Methodist Church. The campers stayed in space at Grace Pointe Community Church of the Nazarene in Severn. 

Most campers came with large groups of people from their own states. But once they arrived, they split into work teams with people they had never met. 

Hannah Mowery, 16, of New York and Emily Laupp, 17, struck up a good friendship as they completed a paint job. 

"It's a new experience," Mowery said. "You've got to take a risk, and we got to meet a lot of new people."