WATERLOO -- Tom Marrah and one of his kids spend one week each year helping those in need fix their homes, from Grantsville, W.Va., and Uniontown, Pa., to the White Earth Indian reservation in Minnesota.

This summer, Marrah is planning to focus their community service in his own back yard.

He is helping organize an event that will bring 400 youth volunteers and 100 adult sponsors from across the U.S. The goal will be to help low-income, elderly and disabled homeowners in Waterloo's 4th Ward.

Marrah says a lot of churches and organizations in Waterloo send people to other places, like New Orleans or Haiti.

"There's a lot of involvement, but those folks typically look outside the area … when there's also a need here."

Community activist Quentin Hart started the From the Heart: Waterloo Home Enhancement Project last year. Hart arranged for the Group Workcamps Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Loveland, Colo., to bring volunteers to Waterloo from July 29 through Aug. 4.

Group Workcamps was founded in 1977 and is an ecumenical organization that provides church youth groups a chance to volunteer in areas throughout the country that need assistance with home repairs. The volunteers, who pay for the privilege to participate, are expecting to paint and make repairs on up to 80 homes for Waterloo residents unable to perform or afford the work themselves.

Marrah participated in Group Workcamps projects with his children from 2001 through 2005 and joined Hart's organizing committee. He describes the program as "absolutely phenomenal."

"The thing that blows me away is that you see these kids come in and work their butts off doing something that's positive," Marrah said. "They're up at 6 in the morning and don't go to bed until 11 at night."

The reality of these teenagers is different than the common perception.

"They raised funds to pay their way and for their transportation, then they turn around and do all this work for free. That's not the typical image of youth today," Marrah added. "It's not gimme, gimme, gimme."

While Group Workcamps is supplying the work force, Hart has been busy trying to get the community commitment in place. And plenty of work remains.

"It's been a heart-warming and eye-opening experience," Hart said. "One of the things I've found is there's many different agencies that are working here to positively impact the housing in the community."

Group Workcamps supplies $12,000 to help purchase materials for the home repairs, but Hart said an estimated $24,000 must be raised locally to complete the project. He's raised $12,000 to date, leaving another $12,000 to be collected through a fund set up at the Community Foundation of Waterloo/Cedar Falls and Northeast Iowa by the end of April. He's also hoping to strike a deal with a local home improvement store to provide good rates on the supplies.

Waterloo Community Schools has agreed to house the visiting volunteers at Central Middle School, but Hart is still looking for volunteers to work on site cleanup crews, hospitality and to find ladders that can be borrowed during the work week. Potential volunteers can reach him at 235-2799 or by e-mailing qhart@mchsi.com.

Hart is also hoping Waterloo youth will sign up through Group Workcamps and participate in the project. More information about Group Workcamps can be found on its Web site, www.groupworkcamps.org.

Meanwhile, local social services agencies, including Operation Threshold, have been busy getting applications out to home owners who qualify for assistance and need help with home repairs. Marrah, who has been out surveying the repair candidates, said there's room for more homes, especially those needed major improvements.

Hart said the process has helped him understand what many home owners face when they don't have the resources to maintain their property.

"Your heart has to go out to these people," he said. "You have good people that are in situations where they can't afford to do some of these things themselves, and we need to step up to the challenge and provide some avenues to help them."

Contact Tim Jamison at (319) 291-1577 or tim.jamison@wcfcourier.com.

How to help:

Donations to buy materials for the Group Workcamps home improvement effort can be sent to From the Heart: Waterloo Home Enhancement Fund, Community Foundation of Waterloo/Cedar Falls; P.O. Box 1176; Waterloo, IA 50704-1176. Volunteers interested in providing site clean up and hospitality or serving as ladder leaders can call Quentin Hart at (319) 235-2799 or e-mail qhart@mchsi.com.