NOTE (Wednesday, September 29, 2021; 4:09 pm): This story has been updated to correct the planned-for-then-postponed destination of NEWS for 2020 and 2021.

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For the second summer, Newtown Ecumenical Workcamp Servants (NEWS) did not undertake a full service trip. That does not mean homeowners who need a hand with home repairs were left unassisted, however.

Traditionally the group does fundraising programs, and then spends a week well away from home — Pennsylvania, New York, and Mississippi are among previous destination states — undertaking home improvement tasks for those unable to do so for themselves.

In 2020 and again this past summer, traveling out of state has been impossible thanks to the continued COVID-19 pandemic.

Instead of traveling to Puerto Rico — the planned-for-and-then-postponed destination for 2020 and 2021 — 15 young adults and six adult leaders participated in local projects coordinated through Community Caring Center in Bridgewater.

Reverend Matt Crebbin, senior pastor at Newtown Congregational Church and a NEWS coordinator, said the nonprofit organization helps older adults remain in their homes as they age.

Through the caring center, workcampers spent three days in late June building a ramp for one homeowner who uses a wheelchair, power washed and then stained a deck, replaced steps, winterized a screened-in porch, and repaired, scraped and then painted siding on one house, Crebbin told The Newtown Bee.

“It was really nice for us,” he said September 16. “We have traveled to many places around the country, but it was great to find the opportunity to serve folks really close to home. It was an important way to experience at home that there is help we need to address.”

Adapting The Model

As with so many factions of life during the pandemic, workcamp chaperones worked with young adults who were unable to participate in all three sessions.

“We had a couple people who couldn’t work every day,” Crebbin said, “and we accommodated people who had to leave early.”

For the most part, he added, everyone worked all three days — three very hot, humid, late June days.

“It was hot weather, up in the 90s, during a heat wave, but everybody worked hard,” he said. “They were committed, and got a lot of good work done.”

On past NEWS trips, workcampers not only worked hard during the day — at multiple locations — but then regrouping at night for dinner and reflections.

NEWS adapted that model this summer, according to Crebbin.

Team members reported each morning to Newtown Congregational Church, where they made lunches before departing as a group to the day’s work site.

After working in Bridgewater, “We returned to the church, shared a meal together, and closed the day with a reflection,” Crebbin added.

“We kept a simplified model,” he said.

Planning For 2022

NEWS also continues to look toward the future. The group is already planning its next trip, one that will take the group 1,500 miles away from home, to the Island of Enchantment for a seven-day work trip, Crebbin confirmed.

“Our plans is to be — assuming health concerns are taken care of — going to Puerto Rico in late June,” he said.

Students who will be entering high school the following fall, through graduating seniors, are invited to contact Crebbin for additional information. While many students return for repeat trips, newcomers are always welcome.

The public’s help is also needed to make the group’s efforts successful. Fundraising efforts will begin again in November, when the annual NEWS Poinsettia Sale begins, Crebbin said. Watch this newspaper and NEWS’s Facebook page for updates.

Plants will be delivered, he said, right after Thanksgiving.

The group’s largest annual fundraiser, a community breakfast in NCC’s hall, may return in the spring. This year’s was canceled due to the pandemic.

Donations are accepted; contact the NCC office at 203-426-9024 for details.

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Associate Editor Shannon Hicks can be reached at shannon@thebee.com.