sbcarpenter – Jesse Lee ASP

Abby Seal Wins 2024 John Ward Award

Jesse Lee ASP is excited to announce that the winner of the 2024 John Ward “Love in Action” Scholarship Award is Abigail Seal.

Abby is a recent graduate of Ridgefield High School and a 3-year participant of Appalachia Service Project.

At RHS Abby was involved in sports, playing field hockey and serving as team captain her senior year. She was also active in student government all four years, serving as class president her senior year.

In the community, Abby was active with Saferides of Ridgefield, the Molly Ann Tango Memorial Foundation Junior Board and the Ridgefield Field Hockey Program. In addition to lots of babysitting, she has worked at Tiger Sports and Bailey’s Backyard.

This fall Abby will be attending The University of St. Andrews in Scotland where she plans to study neuroscience. We are very pleased to present her with this award.

The John Ward Love in Action Award was established by Jesse Lee ASP in 2017 to honor John Ward’s 30th Appalachia Service Project Trip. It is a $1000 grant given each year to a high school senior who has participated in ASP and dedicated themself to other forms of community service.

Winners of the John Ward Award have been:

2024 – Abby Seal
2023 – Henry Idone
2022 – Parker Etzbach
2021 – Kate Fleming
2020 – Matt Carpenter
2019 – Miles Tullo
2018 – Gillian Retter
2017 – Petros Papadopolous

268 Jesse Lee ASP Volunteers Head Down South

High-school students and adults from Ridgefield are on their annual Appalachia Service Project mission trip this week, with a near-record 268 volunteers working to make homes “warmer, safer and drier” in Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee.

Based out of Jesse Lee Memorial United Methodist Church, Jesse Lee ASP is in its 40^th year and is one of the largest local ASP groups in the country. The total of 268 volunteers means that more than 1 percent of Ridgefield’s population is on the mission trip this week. The total also is just shy of Jesse Lee ASP’s record of 280 volunteers set in pre-COVID 2019.

The volunteers departed early Saturday morning after a commissioning ceremony at Jesse Lee with family and friends. They split up, working this week in Dickenson County, VA; Leslie County, KY; and Sullivan County, TN. Crews of two adults and five students team up to repair, build or replace roofs, foundations, floors, mobile-home underpinning and wheelchair ramps, while also developing relationships with the homes’ residents. They’re eating and sleeping in “centers” organized and operated in schools and churches by the national ASP organization.

Saturday’s departure celebration included recognition of six teens who have participated in ASP during all four years of high school. They are: Nikolai Bonwetsch, Dean Mosiello, Ryan Mosiello, Luke Pereira, Nick Sganga and Ian Swiatowitz.

Additionally, another recent RHS graduate, Abby Seal, was named the recipient of the John Ward Love in Action Award, a $1,000 scholarship established in 2017 that honors John Ward, who is in his 36th year of participating in Jesse Lee ASP. The scholarship is awarded to a graduating senior who has been on ASP at least once and who has committed to ongoing community service in other arenas besides ASP.

The ASP volunteers will return to Ridgefield in a long honking caravan on Sun., July 7 around 5 p.m. for a welcoming reception at Jesse Lee. For an updated time of return, watch the website www.jesseleeasp.org on Sunday afternoon.

Funds to support Jesse Lee ASP’s work were raised through car washes held at Jesse Lee on Saturdays this spring, from “stock” sold by participants, and through gifts from the Jesse Lee congregation.

Jesse Lee ASP will celebrate its 2024 work in two ways: with an ice cream social at the church on Sat., July 13 at 6:30 p.m. featuring a slide show of all the crews’ experiences; and a special Sunday-morning service on July 14 at 9:30 a.m. All are invited to both.

Appalachia Service Project is a national Christian volunteer organization whose participants make an annual weeklong mission trip where they work to make local folks’ homes “warmer, safer and drier.” Since its founding in 1969, more than 420,000 volunteers from across the nation have repaired 18,500 substandard homes in central Appalachia.

Jesse Lee ASP is open to anyone who has completed their freshman year of high school.

For more information, call Jesse Lee Church at (203) 438-8791 or go to www.jesseleeasp.org.

Jesse Lee ASP Info Meeting – Jan 24 @ 7:30

High-school teens and adults are invited to attend an information session on Wednesday, January 24th. Leaders and previous volunteers will share details about the preparation and home-repair week planned for this summer with the Jesse Lee Appalachia Service Project (ASP). This year’s trip is scheduled for June 29th-July 7th.

This no-obligation meeting will introduce students and their parents – and any other interested adults – to the Appalachia Service Project overall and the developing plan for Jesse Lee ASP’s 40th year.

The one-hour information session will start at 7:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary at Jesse Lee Memorial United Methodist Church, 207 Main Street.

ASP is a national Christian volunteer organization founded by Rev. Glenn “Tex” Evans, a Methodist minister, in 1969. Since then, more than 420,000 volunteers from across the nation have participated in weeklong mission trips to make more than 18,500 homes in West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina “warmer, safer and drier.”

Jesse Lee ASP is open to anyone who will have completed their freshman year of high school this summer. Adults are encouraged to volunteer – both those who have teens participating and those who do not. You don’t have to be a member of Jesse Lee or any church, you don’t have to live in Ridgefield, and you don’t need to be an expert with a hammer to volunteer. Basic construction skills and safety rules are taught in training sessions prior to going on ASP.

You don’t have to pre-register for the January 24th information session.

Previous ASP volunteers need not attend the information meeting. However, they should plan to attend one of the two required “first orientation” meetings on either Wednesday, Feb. 7th or Tuesday, Feb. 13th.

For more details, feel free to browse through this website or call Deb Ahle (203-438-6782).

Henry Idone Wins 2023 John Ward Award

Jesse Lee ASP is excited to announce that the winner of the 2023 John Ward “Love in Action” Scholarship Award is Henry Idone.

Henry is a recent graduate of Ridgefield High School and a 3-year participant of Appalachia Service Project.

Henry is involved in sports, playing hockey and tennis. At RHS he played cello in the symphonic orchestra. He also was part of the Future Business Leaders of America, the Math Team, the Investment Club and Music Mentors.

In memory of his grandfather, Henry co-founded the Ridgefield Community Cello Ensemble to bring student cellists (from 7th to 12 grade) together to perform at local nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

This fall Henry will be attending Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts where he plans to study data science and business. We are very pleased to present him with this award.

Winners of the John Ward Award have been:

2023 – Henry Idone
2022 – Parker Etzbach
2021 – Kate Fleming
2020 – Matt Carpenter
2019 – Miles Tullo
2018 – Gillian Retter
2017 – Petros Papadopolous

174 JLASP Volunteers Repair Homes in Virginia

High-school students and adults from the Ridgefield area are on their annual Appalachia Service Project mission trip this week, with 174 volunteers working to make homes “warmer, safer and drier” in two counties in Virginia.

Based out of Jesse Lee Memorial United Methodist Church, Jesse Lee ASP is in its 39th year and is one of the largest local ASP groups in the country.

The 174 traveling volunteers departed early Saturday morning after a commissioning ceremony at Jesse Lee with family and friends. They split up, working this week in Wise and Dickenson counties in western Virginia. Crews of two adults and four students team up to repair, build or replace roofs, foundations, mobile-home underpinning and wheelchair ramps, while also developing relationships with the homes’ residents. They’re eating and sleeping in “centers” organized and operated in schools and churches by the national ASP organization.

Saturday’s departure celebration included recognition of 10 Ridgefield teens who have participated in ASP during all four years of high school. They are: Max Barlow, Sophie Browning, Maya Chauhan, Ryder Dadasovich, Caroline DelGiudice, Alex Doman, Kenny Muller, Matt Neligan, Henry Osher and Alex Prokopczyk.

Additionally, another recent RHS graduate, Hank Idone, was named the recipient of the John Ward Love in Action Award, a $1,000 scholarship established in 2017 that honors John Ward, who is in his 35th year of participating in Jesse Lee ASP. The scholarship is awarded to a graduating senior who has been on ASP at least once and who has committed to ongoing community service in other arenas besides ASP.

The ASP volunteers will return to Ridgefield in a long honking caravan on Sun., July 9 around 5 p.m. for a welcoming reception at Jesse Lee. For an updated time of return, watch the website www.jesseleeasp.org on Sunday afternoon.

Jesse Lee ASP will celebrate its 2023 work in two ways: with an ice cream social at the church on Sat., July 15 at 6:30 p.m. featuring a slide show of all the crews’ experiences; and a special Sunday-morning service at Jesse Lee on July 16 at 9:30 a.m. All are invited to both.

In addition to the volunteers working this week in Virginia, two Ridgefield women are working in Appalachia all summer as paid ASP staff members. Claire Dollins is program manager at ASP’s main center in Jonesville, VA, while Bella Lussi is finance coordinator in Breathitt County, KY. Their tasks include helping to evaluate applications from homeowners, stocking the “center” with tools and supplies, planning and overseeing home repairs, hosting and assisting the weekly teams of volunteers, and much more.

Jesse Lee ASP is open to anyone who has completed their freshman year of high school.

For more information about the local Appalachia Service Project, call Jesse Lee Memorial United Methodist Church at (203) 438-8791 or go to www.jesseleeasp.org.

Registration Limitation

The number of adult volunteers signed up for the trip dictate the number of youth we are able to take. Once we reach that number, we will be instituting a waiting list for any additional youth who are interested in attending this year.

If you are an adult or college student, we welcome you to register.
If you are a youth whose parent is also going on the trip, we welcome you to register.
If you are a youth who has attended one of the first orientation sessions or has already spoken with us, and are not registered, please register immediately or you will be placed on the waiting list.
All other youth are encouraged to sign up and will be placed on the waiting list in the order in which you submit your registration.

We continue to look for additional adults to go on the trip and often registered youth need to drop out, so there is the possibility of coming off the waiting list. Should this not be the case, a full refund will be given.

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Parent & Volunteer Meeting

All new and returning ASP youth volunteers and at least one parent are required to attend one of these sessions. This meeting will review pertinent information regarding Jesse Lee ASP’s plans, standards and rules. The goal is to ensure that all leaders, volunteers and their parents share the same understanding when it comes to the program’s expectations.

If you have not already done so, at this meeting you will be expected to sign up for the required activities (basic, ramp, car wash). So please bring your calendar.

There are 12 meetings to choose from and the dates and times are listed below. The meetings will take place in the Chapel with the exception of the February 28th sessions which will be in the Carriage House. Please use the button to sign up for one of the sessions. If you have any questions regarding this meeting, please contact Deb Ahle at 203-240-1864.

Update: The March 6th sessions will be in Martin Hall in the main building and the March 7th sessions will be in the Carriage House.

Tuesday, February 27 7:00 PM – 7:30 PM 7:45 PM – 8:15 PM	Wednesday, February 28 7:00 PM – 7:30 PM 7:45 PM – 8:15 PM	Thursday, February 29 7:00 PM – 7:30 PM 7:45 PM – 8:15 PM
Tuesday, March 5 7:00 PM – 7:30 PM 7:45 PM – 8:15 PM	Wednesday, March 6 7:00 PM – 7:30 PM 7:45 PM – 8:15 PM	Thursday, March 7 7:00 PM – 7:30 PM 7:45 PM – 8:15 PM

Online Sign Ups

Signups for all activities are online. When signing up, please keep some things in mind:

In order to sign up, the system requires that you use the same UNIQUE email that you used to register for ASP. Please make sure you are consistent.
Within 24 hours of signing up, you will be sent an email asking you to “opt-in” to the system for text messages. This is required by Sign-Up Genius to allow us to send you reminders via text message. If you do not opt-in, reminders will go to your email.
If necessary, the same link can be used to make changes up to 48 hours before your scheduled activity. Once into Sign-Up Genius, it will prompt you to input an email address. It will then send you an email with instructions on how to make the change. This is to prevent someone else from making a change to your selection.
If you determine within 48 hours of an event that you are unable to attend a session that you have signed up, please reach out to the contact person for that activity.

Background Verification Forms

Background Verification – Required for Adults & College Students

In accordance with the Safe Sanctuary Policy of the Jesse Lee Memorial UMC, all adult and young adult volunteers (anybody out of high school) need to submit to a background check once every three years. The background check form and a copy of our policy and procedure can be downloaded here.

ASP Volunteer Trip Agreement

ASP Volunteer Trip Agreement – Required for All Volunteers

All volunteers will need to complete the ASP Volunteer Agreement form. If you have not done so, please download the form below, sign it and bring it to one of the orientations or form drop off meetings listed on the events page.