Giving back makes the world a better place. It’s even more special when you’re able to help your own community.

Last week, members of the Bethany E.C.C. in Tamaqua and its congregation pitched in to help make Tamaqua a better place. Over 50 volunteers aided in various weeklong projects during Restore 2019, which culminated Friday.

“We launched it with a worship service on Sunday night,” said the Rev. Kevin Roberts. “I think there’s 53 people from our church that volunteered. They either took off from their jobs, or they’re working both here and there throughout the week.”

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The group of volunteers offered many different services in Tamaqua. Volunteers were at the Tamaqua Community Arts Center on Friday morning doing children’s ministry, and then they headed to the South Ward Playground in the afternoon. Another group visited the Hometown nursing home twice during the week, and performed a hymn song. More volunteers made their way to St. Luke’s Geriatric Center to help residents play bingo.

The list of volunteer work goes on.

“We spent a day at Boyer’s,” Roberts said. “It was senior citizen’s day, we helped them bag groceries and put them in their cars. We also spent some time cleaning up the East End Playground, and a lot of time pruning the trees in Odd Fellows Cemetery. The cemetery association has very little labor and money, so we donated our time there.”

Two of the more extensive projects involved landscaping and construction.

“We have been working at a residence in town, a woman is handicap and has a lot of difficulty,” said Roberts. “They weeded her yard, painted her porch and really transformed the whole appearance of the front of her home.”

And then there’s the construction team, which has set up shop at a home on Railroad Street for most of the week. The team tore down an old, unsafe porch and put a new one up. However, there is an integral addition to the porch, which is a ramp alongside of the home that is attached to the new porch.

“They are building a porch and ramp for a handicapped woman,” said Roberts. “The only way she could get out of here is if her husband or someone else helped carry her down to this level. Now she’ll be able to get in and out by herself and with a lot less energy from her husband, who is also handicapped.”

Eight years ago, Director Cheryl Nemeth and Roberts went on a missions trip with the church in Kentucky. The group visited Big Creek Missions a few times over the years, but then Nemeth and Roberts realized that it was time go home — to help restore their own community.

“We went there and we learned,” Nemeth said. “We went back four times and God said, you know what, it’s time you take it back to your community. You don’t need to go back there. Pastor and I stood in the church one day and we started planning that very day. We got so excited. We knew it was time to bring it here to Tamaqua.

Roberts said that the next planned Restore will be in 2021.

“This was made possible all through donations,” said Roberts of the new porch and ramp project. “The cost of all of this project is completely donated and given to them with a lot of sweat equity. It’s been a very rewarding week.”