Nearly 300 youth from across the state converged on Gloucester and Mathews earlier this week, braving extreme heat, to perform renovations for a number of different residents whose homes were in need of repair.

Two large mission groups happened to host weeklong camps in the area this week; statewide Impact Virginia and Gloucester-based Helping Hands Mission Camp.

Each camp followed basically the same format to achieve a unified mission of helping community members in need.

Impact Virginia

Impact Virginia, a one-week construction mission opportunity, is based at Newington Baptist Church, Gloucester, and believe it or not, its participants pay $275 for the privilege of doing a week’s worth of manual labor on people’s homes.

The youth volunteers have been working on about 20 projects this week, and the participants’ fees help to offset some of the cost of materials for the repairs, according to Impact Virginia mission events and development coordinator Glenn Maddox....