Hearts & Hammers and Church Groups Help with Local Home Repairs.
Hearts & Hammers is a non-profit ministry organization which dispatches groups men to go to the houses of people in the community and serve them through helping with yard work and outdoor house repairs.
The ministry is free and eligible to certain members of the community who are not physically able to maintain household duties on their own. The website reports that those who are eligible to receive service are “Senior Citizens, Disabled Adults, and Veterans of the United States Armed Forces or their Surviving Spouse.”
The ministry also partners with churches who form their own groups of workers to visit houses.
“Our Care Receivers really appreciate what our teams do for them,” Bob Gowdy said in an email. Gowdy has served with Hearts & Hammers for four years through Calvary Church.
According to Gowdy, Calvary’s ministry continuously serves 41 households consisting of mainly elderly church members. He said that in their visits they do tasks such as cleaning people’s gutters, fixing bushes and raking among other tasks.
Their role does not only require them to conduct manual work; they also provide religious fellowship.
“Teams routinely pray with and for our Care Receivers and spiritually encourage them,” Gowdy said.
Gowdy reported that the volunteers are all men and most volunteers come into the ministry with preexisting skill-sets applicable to the work necessary in the ministry.
“We would like [volunteers] to have some experience with minor home repairs, but we have some that want to serve and want to learn how to do home maintenance tasks,” Gowdy said.
The organization website reports that most outside organizations send teams of 30 to 50 men in groups.
Gowdy said Calvary Church has a total of 87 volunteers involved with the ministry. These volunteers are split into 17 separate groups who are sent out to minister to Care Receivers.
“The teams develop a long-term relationship with their Care Receivers. This is not just a one visit and done ministry,” Gowdy said.
While Gowdy said Calvary’s ministry is only open to men, there are some separate opportunities for others to help the ministry out through the organization itself.
According to the Hearts & Hammers website, “We have several volunteering opportunities for people of all ages, experience levels and time availability.”
The individual volunteer opportunities available directly with the organization include positions dealing with inspection, warehousing, coordinating and marketing work.
The Calvary Church website states that the church will host its next Hearts & Hammers training meeting on Saturday, April 13th. The groups will also meet on May 11 and June 15 this summer.
Mock tweet: Read this article to learn about how men at Calvary Church help the community with home repairs through the organization Hearts & Hammers.
