First ‘Fall Salkehatchie’ week slated for this month

By Jessica Brodie

This month, missioners longing for cooler weather for roof jobs and other home repairs will get their wish.

Salkehatchie Summer Service is launching its first-ever “Fall Salkehatchie,” a weeklong mission experience to enable teens and adults to come together and work on the homes of people living in poverty situations right here in South Carolina.

Set for Oct. 6-11, Fall Salkehatchie will be held in Johnsonville, and volunteers will be housed at Vox Memorial United Methodist Church in that community.

Ward Smith, chair of Salkehatchie’s Board of Directors, said Fall Salkehatchie has been something their team has been trying to launch for some time, and he’s happy plans have come together this year.

“I’m very excited about it,” Smith said. “I’ll be directing it, and it’s in an area where we already have a summer camp, so everything is already established. We have churches lined up that can feed the volunteers, and a church where they can stay at night.”

Smith said many teens and adults are not able to volunteer with Salkehatchie during the summer, either because of the physical toll of the state’s tremendous summer heat, or because their schools have shifted to a year-round schedule.

He said a number of schools have fall break that week in October, which is why they selected those dates.

Salkehatchie leaders are also planning a Spring Salkehatchie, and plans are under way now. Dates will be announced soon.

To register for Fall Salkehatchie, go to https://salkehatchie.org and click on the top bar that says “Registration now open.”