HURRICANE, W.Va. -- Have a leaky roof, a crumbling dry wall or other necessary repairs? This summer, hundreds of do-it-yourself teenagers will be in Putnam County ready to lend a hand.

Reach Workcamps, out of Galeton, Colo., is expected to bring up to 900 middle and high school students to Hurricane in July to help with residential building projects across the county.

The city of Hurricane is looking for about 75 homeowners who have roofing, carpentry, painting or flooring and drywall repair projects for the teens to tackle between July 18 and 31, said City Manager Ben Newhouse.

"Call, send us a letter, come by or we can fax an application to you," Newhouse said. "We'll go door to door, whatever it takes."

This is the second year Reach has hosted a work camp in the Hurricane area.

Last year, students from eight states made a variety of home repairs and built handicapped accessible ramps to 43 homes in Putnam County.

"We couldn't be happier with what they have done and the improvements we've seen," Newhouse said.

The goal of these young people is to help provide homeowners with warm, safe, dry housing, especially for the low-income, elderly and handicapped individuals in the community, he said.

"When people see their house being worked on, or their neighbor's house, it has a kind of domino effect," Newhouse said. "They take more pride in their property and it helps enhance the community."

Homeowners in the program will have no financial obligations for the repairs, Newhouse said.

Though there are no income guidelines for residents, selection is based on need, he said.

"Like last year, the program is not for somebody that has a Hummer or Lexus parked in their driveway," he said.

HURRICANE, W.Va. -- Have a leaky roof, a crumbling dry wall or other necessary repairs? This summer, hundreds of do-it-yourself teenagers will be in Putnam County ready to lend a hand.

Reach Workcamps, out of Galeton, Colo., is expected to bring up to 900 middle and high school students to Hurricane in July to help with residential building projects across the county.

The city of Hurricane is looking for about 75 homeowners who have roofing, carpentry, painting or flooring and drywall repair projects for the teens to tackle between July 18 and 31, said City Manager Ben Newhouse.

"Call, send us a letter, come by or we can fax an application to you," Newhouse said. "We'll go door to door, whatever it takes."

This is the second year Reach has hosted a work camp in the Hurricane area.

Last year, students from eight states made a variety of home repairs and built handicapped accessible ramps to 43 homes in Putnam County.

"We couldn't be happier with what they have done and the improvements we've seen," Newhouse said.

The goal of these young people is to help provide homeowners with warm, safe, dry housing, especially for the low-income, elderly and handicapped individuals in the community, he said.

"When people see their house being worked on, or their neighbor's house, it has a kind of domino effect," Newhouse said. "They take more pride in their property and it helps enhance the community."

Homeowners in the program will have no financial obligations for the repairs, Newhouse said.

Though there are no income guidelines for residents, selection is based on need, he said.

"Like last year, the program is not for somebody that has a Hummer or Lexus parked in their driveway," he said.

To keep down on travel time and costs, applicants to the program need to live no more than 30 minutes from the Hurricane area, he said.

Campers pay $399 to travel to West Virginia. The money covers their accommodations, meals and some materials for their work site.

This year, city officials want to raise about $12,000 for the cost of repairs to more homes and asbestos testing for roof repairs, Newhouse said.

So far, fundraising efforts have brought in about $3,500.

"It all goes to material and supplies, there is no overhead," Newhouse said. "We're also accepting paint, paintbrushes and other supplies."

Donations can be sent in, or dropped off at Hurricane City Hall, he said.

The city raised about $9,000 last year for materials and equipment for the work camp, he said.

The Reach program is a non-profit Christian camp that encourages serving those in need and building relationships with "neighbors" in communities around the country. This year the program will sponsor work camps in Colorado, Ohio, Texas, New York, Maine and Indiana.

The program began in 1991, and held its first work camp in Madisonville, Ky. It has since sponsored more than 25,000 students at camps in 13 states and Mexico.

"It's a great opportunity for the students, and for the community," Newhouse said.

Visit Hurricane City Hall or call 304-562-5896 to apply for home repairs with the 2010 Reach Workcamps. For information about Reach, visit www.reachwc.org.

Reach Veronica Nett at veroni...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5113.