Young Life heads to Appalachia

In the hills around McKee, Kentucky, where bluegrass is prevalent and poverty abounds, 35 teens and adults from Incline Village will be helping to make a difference.

And, like all Young Life trips, by making a difference in someone else's life, the Christian youth organization hopes to make a difference in the Incline teenagers' lives.

Over Spring Break, the Incline Village teenagers will be traveling to Kentucky to assist the organization, Christian Appalachian Project. They will be helping to meet basic housing needs of impoverished residents of Appalachia. The students will better the living conditions of many residents who have no plumbing, cardboard patches over windows, rotted floors, unsafe methods of heating, among other issues.

The Christian Appalachian Project's Web site, www.chrisapp.org, said, "Once their homes were repaired, the families we'd helped showed such incredible pride, their lives were literally transformed."

Young Life Director Rob Hunt said the Incline teens will be doing small construction and repair projects, painting, yard work and neighborhood cleanup.

Two years ago, they did similar work in Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina. The kids really responded to that trip, Hunt said.

The 35 teens and adults will fly to Nashville, before going on to the area around McKee, he said. The entire trip will cost about $20,000 - which Young Life is trying to fund. Students who can afford it will pay $675, but not all students can do that.

"Well over half of our kids are on scholarships. It's the first time we've had that large of a scholarship number," Hunt said.

Incline's Rotary Clubs stepped up to help cover the costs. The Tahoe-Incline Rotary Club and The Rotary Club of Incline Village each donated $1,500 and the Rotary District donated $3000.



Young Life Appalachia

Where: McKee, Ky.

When: April 14-19

Who: 35 Young Life teens and adults from Tahoe

Why: To help poor familie