SHAWSVILLE, Va. – Six charter buses packed with students, staff and volunteers pulled up at a campsite for an extraordinary community service project, that also serves as a fundraiser for a local school.
The group with Faith Christian School spent hours doing various services at Alta Mons Retreat Center and Campground in Shawsville on Friday.
Children as young as 4 years old, and adults up to 65 years old got their hands dirty, tackling a multitude of tasks.
"It's going great. We have kids painting bunkhouses kids helping around the dining all, kids doing inventory," said Kami Andrews, a student at Faith Christian School, who led a group of students in the project.
As Alta Mons gets ready to celebrate its 60th anniversary this summer, the school thought it would be a great site for its annual community service project, which is called Project Faith.
Given the massive free labor involving 500 participants, volunteer Tim Lilley said it's a win-win situation for everyone.
"We've calculated that the amount of hours going into working here today, is the equivalent to a maintenance guy working an entire year. It's a great opportunity for our kids to work, give back, provide a service," said Lilley.
"We've been painting this roof, and we should be treating our brothers and sisters at Alta Mons, working for them, with brotherly love," said student Cole Grabes, of Faith Christian School.
Andrews believes this is a unique opportunity for students of different ages to learn from one another.
"Getting a hands-on experience and helping others improves the culture and our community, so kind of puts them as part of the Roanoke Valley, feel a part of things and have contributed in a huge way," said Andrews.
Whether they did it with a shovel or a paint brush, everyone who came to Alta Mons on Friday made an investment in the community.