Published: September 11, 2009 09:39 pm      

Repair project gets big boost

Logansport Savings agrees to help fund Group Workcamp

The city of Logansport and the Salvation Army are a step closer to funding a summer work camp that could fix more than 50 distressed homes in the area, after receiving a donation from Logansport Savings Bank to match fundraising efforts up to $10,000.

Deputy Mayor Linda Klinck said that will account for half of the money required to host the Group Workcamp, which is scheduled to take place July 4-10.

Group Workcamps is a 30-year-old, nationwide program that immerses youth into communities through a faith-based camp. Throughout the week, the campers are assigned to work on homes of disabled, elderly or low-income residents.

Typical projects include porch repair or construction, step repair, interior or exterior painting, wheelchair ramp repair or construction, weatherization and mobile home skirting.

Klinck said the camp would allow for a broader range of homes to receive repair work, because grant money for renovations often includes strict income regulations or is available only for large projects.

Logansport Savings Bank president Dave Wihebrink said he took interest in the project after reading about it in the Pharos-Tribune.

“Community banks should support the community,” Wihebrink said. “Our livelihoods are here in this community, and we need to do as much as we can to give back.”

Wihebrink said the bank contacted Klinck to learn details of the project and ensure it was an undertaking the bank wanted to be a part of.

“We felt like we could give a significant contribution,” he said. “And in these current economic times, we thought we could help kick off a program that could do a lot of good things for Logansport and Cass County.”

Besides helping out with monetary support, Logansport Savings Bank business development specialist Joshua Hopper said the bank was looking forward to aiding the advertisement of the Group Workcamps. He explained he is working with the city to create a billboard promoting the week-long camp, and also to welcome campers to the area in July.

Hopper said those interested in donating funds for the project can do so at the bank.

“If it’s loose change or a business that wants to jump on board, they can do that here at the bank,” Hopper said.

He said donors should make checks payable to Group Workcamps and money would be placed in an account established at the bank.

“This is going to be a really great thing for our county,” Hopper said. “Our slogan is “Leading the way,’ and I think we are leading the way to rebuild Logansport and Cass County.”

Sarah Parish, an intern to the deputy mayor who has led efforts for the project, said she was thrilled when she heard the bank was interested in helping out.

“It would have been doing a lot of work to raise all of the money on our own,” Parish said. “It is going to be much easier since they are helping in such a big way.”

Logansport Savings Bank is not the only organization lending a hand. Home Depot also responded to a request for help.

“We saw it in the paper, and we do different events in the community,” said Michael Rossi, a department supervisor of contracts and commercial accounts at Home Depot. “We are a part of the community, and we thought it was a good project to take on.”

Rossi, along with fellow co-workers comprising Team Depot, plan to provide building supplies and to help in any way possible. Team Depot has helped the city in the past by offering donations and volunteer labor to the parks department.

“We really enjoy doing it,” Rossi said. “It is good community service.”

Another key supporter is Pioneer Regional School Corp., which will house the roughly 400 youths attending the camp. Superintendent David Bess said the corporation had been contacted after other inquiries were unsuccessful.

“I called superintendents throughout the Midwest who had hosted the Group Workcamps,” Bess said. “And they were all very pleased with the experience and had very positive results with how it came together and helped their community.”

Bess said he relayed information to the school board, whose members agreed the experience would be beneficial to the school and the community.

Klinck is pleased with the progress of the project thus far.

“This is another piece of the puzzle that we are putting together,” she said. “It’s pretty exciting. I really believe good things will come to Logansport and Cass County from Group Workcamps.”

• Jennifer Tangeman is a reporter for the Pharos-Tribune. She can be reached at (574) 732-5148 or jennifer.tangeman@pharostribune.com.