Volunteer Projects

Lot Clearing

Clearing lots consists of removing debris, trees, and garbage from vacant and overgrown lots, then mowing and weeding them. Many abandoned lots have been neglected to the point that the weeds, grass, and small trees have grown up to 10 feet high. These lots are a fire hazard, full of dangerous debris, and sometimes used to conceal criminal activity. Our goal is to clear every lot in the community providing a safe and clean environment for kids to play and live.

Clearing lots is hard but satisfying work, especially in the summer when it is so hot. Due to the heat, during summer months we recommend clearing lots from 8 am till noon only. When clearing lots, one MUST wear long pants and closed toed shoes. We recommend you bring WATER, sunscreen, insect repellent, safety glasses and earplugs. Your group will use heavy-duty lawn mowers, brush hog, weed eaters, hedge clippers, heavy-duty trash bags and sometimes a chain saw (for experienced adults only). Generation One can provide this equipment if you do not have it.

Steps to clearing a lot:

• Walk through the lot picking up and removing all garbage and debris.
• Cut down and remove any trees that must be removed.
• Mow, weed eat, and trim remaining trees and fence lines.
• Make sure that the debris pile is stacked neatly and as close to the street as possible so the city can pick it up on heavy trash day.
• DO NOT go into yards not assigned to your group. What you view as trash may not be!!!

House Painting

We like painting the homes to help beautify the neighborhood. Typically we like to put 15 to 25 volunteers on each home that we paint. It usually takes about 6 hours to paint a home from start to finish and cost $300.00 for paint, brushes, scrappers, and rollers. Equipment needed includes 10 gal of paint for the house itself, and 2 gal for the trim. Each volunteer will need a paint brush or roller, paint scraper, 6 to 8 ladders, broom, rake, garbage bag, drop cloth, and rags. Generation One can supplement your supplies, but your group should bring as much as possible. Our goal is to paint every occupied home that needs it in the community.

Steps to painting a home:

• Scrape the old paint that has started flaking off the house. Scraping usually takes about 2 hours. Note – Only scrape the cracked and flaking paint off. You do not have to scrape down to bare wood. Place drop cloth to catch the paint you’re scraping.
• Paint the house and the trim. Paint a very thick first coat. The wood will soak up a lot of paint. Some homes may require a second or third coat.
• Clean up the paint that was scraped off the house and any paint that spilled on the ground. Again our goal is to paint every home in the community that someone is living in.
• Wash out/clean up all equipment used and return it to Generation One. Make sure the site is left in even better condition than it was found.

Demolition

To date, we have demolished and removed 16 hazardous buildings in the community. We have a couple of demolition companies that donate their crew and equipment in order to remove crack houses, homes that burned down or dilapidated and dangerous buildings. Our biggest need involving the demolition of hazardous buildings is someone to cover the cost of the roll offs used to remove the debris. The typical house we demo requires 3 forty-yard rolls offs. Roll offs cost between $450 and $550 a piece. Our goal is to remove every building that is a danger to this community.

Restoration

We continuously seek skilled labor that can repair a leaking roof, leaky sink, and take care of small plumbing, electrical, sheetrock, flooring, toilet, cabinet repairs. We also need people capable of building wheelchair ramps, rebuilding porches, and replace rotten siding. We have an ever growing list of homes that need these kinds of repairs.

Annual Events

Generation One hosts 4 Annual Events, none of which are fundraisers.

Fishing Tournament
We take up to 100 kids fishing every year and need volunteers to help the kids fish, bait, catch, and release. Our goal is to have one adult for every 3 kids. We fish for a few hours then have lunch and give out several awards covering different categories. We need volunteers to cook or provide the lunch, awards, bait, transportation and other costs.

BBQ Cook-Off and Ministry Expo
The purpose of this event is to engage with the community while introducing them to the local ministries/organizations that offer services for them. We need many competitive cook teams to compete for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place and then feed between 400 and 600 people. We also need volunteers to take care of the worship/band, moonwalks, rock wall, carnival rides, face painting, kids games, and other entertainment. This event is typically held on the 2nd Saturday of May and goes from 12pm till 4pm.

Christmas Dinner
Each year we like to have a Christmas dinner for the families of the kids enrolled in our tutoring program. We need volunteers to prepare dinner for up to 100 people. We also use volunteers to teach the kids a play or skit that they can perform for their parents that night. This is a really special time for us all to come together and enjoy fellowship, food and fun!

Summer Camp
Every summer we take between 140 and 150 kids to Stoney Creek Ranch in Columbus, Texas for a 3 night, 4 day camp. This camp is an awesome opportunity for the kids to experience God’s creation as they enjoy outdoor activities including swimming, blobbing, kayaking, fishing, games, worship, teachings and more! It is also the most powerful time we have with the kids as it is the longest period of time we spend with them without any outside interruptions. The camp provides everything but the counselors. We recruit dozens of men and women with hearts for kids. This is an amazing time for not only the kids but the adults as well. This camp often changes the lives of those who volunteer to spend their time with these kids. You have to come with LOTS of energy and ready to give all of yourself to God through grace, love, patience and discipline for the kids. Our needs for this camp also include transportation and other costs of approximately $5000.00.

Individual Volunteer Positions

Volunteer Coordinator
The volunteer coordinator interfaces between the members of the community that need work done and the volunteer teams that have a heart to do that work. The coordinator finds the jobs and schedules volunteer teams to come in and complete the work, whether it is clearing lots, painting a home, or restoring a home. The coordinator is responsible for determining the materials and equipment needed to complete the job and then communicating that with the volunteer team leader. The volunteer coordinator and team leader will then set a date and time to do the work. During the fall, winter, and spring this job requires about 10 to 20 hours a month. In the summer when we have several thousand volunteers coming through on a nearly daily basis, the job could take between 35 and 55 hours a week.