VOLUNTEERS FINISH REPAIRS TO AREA RESIDENTS' HOMES

NEW MADRID - With little regard for the heat, humidity or the height, Jennifer Husmann hopped off the ladder, flicked a bead of sweat from her brow and offered a broad smile.

"I knew I could paint, but I never knew I could roof a house," she said.

The 19-year-old St. Louis resident was one of 32 volunteers with the Southern Missouri Project who took turns at painting, roofing and other projects in New Madrid. The group is a collaboration of Vincentian priests, Catholic nuns and the Springfield-Cape Girardeau Diocese as well as New Madrid civic leaders.

The project and its volunteers rehab houses in the Bootheel at no cost to occupants. It is a weeklong project.

Volunteers range in age from high school freshman to adults, but most are college students who spend their time working in New Madrid and Lilbourn.

The houses chosen for the work are selected through a local contact, who gathers names of needy individuals. Once the houses are chosen, donations help cover the cost of materials and meals for the workers.