LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) — For the past seven years, Community Relief Ministries has been helping homeowners across the region by providing compassion, support and assistance with much-needed home projects.
What began as a small outreach effort has grown into one of the area’s largest service projects through the organization’s Ignite ministry. Volunteers work alongside homeowners to complete repairs and projects while building relationships within their communities.
Organizers say the ministry benefits both the homeowners receiving assistance and the volunteers offering their time and skills.
“We serve a lot of widows whose husbands have passed away and they just don’t know where to turn to fix the problems that their husbands used to take care of,” said Matt Naylor, director of Community Relief Ministries. “We serve a lot of people that have been through government programs that don’t qualify for this reason or that reason, and we serve other people who just really don’t know where to turn, and they’ve been given our name, and we come in and we try to love them like Jesus does.”
The organization is currently seeking individuals, families and groups of all skill levels to volunteer for upcoming projects. Ignite ministry projects are scheduled in Lima and St. Marys in June, with additional projects planned in Van Wert and Darke counties in July.
Naylor said anyone interested in volunteering or in need of assistance with home projects is encouraged to contact Community Relief Ministries to learn how the organization may be able to help.
