Last Chance

Last day today! Shop at AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com) today and Amazon will donate an extra $5 to Pv Volunteers Inc. Get started here: http://smile.amazon.com/ch/27-0311803

Shop Amazon and the PVs get $5!!!

Here is an easy way to help the PVs raise some money. Please share with your family and friends.

Shop at AmazonSmile now through 3/31/14 and Amazon will donate an extra $5 to Pv Volunteers Inc. Click on this link to get started: http://smile.amazon.com/ch/27-0311803

Once you designate the PVs as your charity of choice on your amazon account, 0.5% of every purchase through smile.amazon.com (same stuff as on amazon, you just go through a different portal) goes to the PVs. In addition, shopping before the end of the month will give the PVs an extra $5.

Since a lot of people already use Amazon, please share with friends and family. This could really be a great and easy way for the PVs to raise some money.

Friday I'm In Love

What a wonderful end to a wonderful week. The sun came out again, the temperatures started to rise, all is right with the world. To wrap up the week we had volunteers at St. Vincent DePaul continuing to organize the warehouse and setting it it for easy "shopping." A few volunteers also ran across the street to help finish a home repair site started by another group the week before.

The other part of the group went to the Itmann Food Bank in Mullens to paint the floors and walls. When they were working the commodities truck came to drop of the March and the missed February food delivery. The NIU students were able to pitch in and help the local volunteers restock the shelves.

At the end of the day we all gathered together for dinner, smores and a closing prayer service. It was a wonderful way to wrap up the week. It was another great experience with NIU. Thank you to all that made this happen and for all your prayers and support!

Sweet Thursday

 Talk about a change in seasons, we woke this morning to frigid temperatures and a couple of inches of snow on the ground. Wyoming County schools were closed for the day, but we decided to go with a "delayed opening." Head Start was canceled for the day, so the group split in half with one group going to St. Vincent DePsul and the other going to a new home repair site.

 The home repair site was in Fan Rock, not too far from where the group was staying. The work we were doing was for a young couple with two small kids, the youngest 7 months old. The front steps were quite long and high and did not have a railing. Both the mom and child have falling off so they were very appreciative of the new railings. They also are having a leaking roof problem (that we will fix in the summer) that has caused a soft spot on the floor in the kitchen. The group rolled back the linoleum and patched the spot. We are looking forward to working with the family again.

The group that went to St. Vincent DePaul continued to help Debbie organize the warehouse and help distribute furniture. We will be returning there again tomorrow to wrap things up.

Wednesday Morning 3am

As we set out for the day, several herds of deer bid us adieu from the side of the road. Not only did they not run when we were near, that actually posed for a picture:-)  The work day itself was another good one with work continuing at the Brenton site, Head Start and helping out at the St. Vincent de Paul warehouse.

 The home repair site went very smoothly and the rain showers even managed to stop just when we needed them to to go out and cut wood. Since most of our work was indoors, we were able to spend time with the family and be entertained by their adorable 8 month old boy. Just as we were wrapping up, the winds and rain really started picking up.

Students went to Head Start again today. Being able to have Head Start as one of the options for the week has been great. The volunteers are working in peoples homes, but to be able to see the children in a school setting gives a whole new perspective, and helps Head Start with their funding to boot!

 We also sent a crew to help with organization at the St. Vincent de Paul warehouse in Pineville. They are fortunate to get many donations, but oftentimes get overwhelmed by the number of items coming in they can't get to things that needs to be distributed, so the students helped organize it all.

We are now bracing for a winter storm that is coming in this evening. It is beginning to snow as I type, and we are expecting one to two inches by morning with temperatures topping out tomorrow around freezing. It is really quite amazing that yesterday at this time we were sitting with the windows and doors open, and tonight we are getting ready for temps in the mid-teens.

Sun Comes Up Its Tuesday Morning

Today was another breathtakingly beautiful day in Wyoming County. The sky was blue, the temperatures topped out just over 70, and everyone was in a great mood because of it. We started a new site today in Brenton that will carry over into tomorrow and into the summer as well. We were able to get a lot done today outside and take advantage of the nice weather. We tarred a section of the roof that was leaking really badly. This is a temporary fix until we come back this summer and put a new EPDM rubber roof on the trailer. Were also able to cover up a large hole that used to have a septic tank in it, and install a back door to the trailer, which provided a much needed second exit for the family of three (including an adorable 8 month old boy). We also started to work on the floors that need replacing in the hallway, a task that will continue into tomorrow. The amount of work that was done today was amazing.


The rest of the students went to the Baileysville Head Start for the day. Not only do they get to hangout with the kids, the get lunch, and are invited to join the kids for the bus ride at the end of the day to drop them off. A very full and exciting day.


Both the home repair and Head Start groups arrived back to the school at the same time so the whole group decided to take a trip down to Dairy Queen to enjoy a nice cold treat on a warm sunny day.

Monday, Monday

We were blessed with a beautiful day today, sunshine and all warm weather. The group split into two groups with a group going to Head Start and a group going out to a home repair site. The Head Start is always very welcoming to the volunteers and the kids love having them spend the day with them. The one on one interaction of the volunteers and kids is priceless and the stories that come out of the day are always entertaining.

The home repair site today was out in Clear Fork and consisted of several small jobs for a wonderful family. We were greeted at the door with an offer of coffee, is there not a better way to start a site? Our tasks for the day included buidling a new railing on their front steps, tarring and patching the roof, and repairing a closet ceiling that have caved into due to the leaks. The group was so efficient that we were done early and had plenty of time to spend with the home owner and enjoy the sunshine.

 We have included some pictures from the first couple of days below.

NIU Service Week Begins

The NIU students arrived safely last night. We met up with them in Pineville and then led them out to Bailyesville Community Center where they will be staying for the week. Earlier in the day we had collected the air mattresses and extra blankets from storage, but we weren't able to locate a pump to inflate them. PV improvising to the rescue! We were able to make an inflator by connecting a funnel to a leaf blower, and a little duct tape. It worked beautifully! In no time all the mattresses were inflated and the students were settled in for the night.

After Mass this morning, the students spent the day enjoying the beauty of the nature of Wyoming County, while the PV staff set up the weeks sites, shopped for supplies and collected tools from storage. After dinner we all met back up at BCC for an orientation and commissioning service. We are all looking forward to a great week.

The Huskies Are Coming, The Huskies Are Coming!

Twelve NIU students will be arriving in West Virginia on Saturday for their annual Spring Break Service Trip. This will be 15th year that the PVs and NIU Newman Center will be teaming up for this alternative spring break.To go along with the trip this year, we are launching a few new endeavors.

• A cool infogr.am was created to countdown to the trip.  Check it out and countdown with us!
• You can support this wonderful and life changing trip by donating to the new created fundly site specific for this trip.
• And as always, you can follow along during the week, right here on the website, as we post daily the activities that we will be doing. It will almost be like you are with us!

Please keep the students and the PVs in your thoughts next week as we build, serve and believe.