Hope Village Going Strong | Video

Jenny Castro | 7/16/2012

The Hope Village volunteer efforts in Minot have been running steadily since March. With a new coordinator, they plan to continue the volunteer work through the winter.

They run a tight schedule at Hope Village and Steve Carbno is the man in charge. Carbno started just this month as the coordinator and after helping out last year with the Salvation Army, it`s a project he`s familiar with.

"For me now, to be able to come back a year later and be part of the recovery part of it, it`s exciting for me. I hope to be able to continue this position until it`s no longer needed."

On Monday, Carbno helped a church group of high schoolers get going as soon as they rolled into town. The Williston group is here untill Wednesday before they head off to New Orleans for more volunteer work.

"We`re just raking up leaves trying to cleanup, do whatever we can,” said Justin Grindeland with the Williston First Lutheran Church.

Although it`s great to have so many young volunteers eager to work, Carbno says they`re in desperate need of skilled craftsmen.

"We`re at that part now here we`ve done a lot of cleaning. We`ve done a lot of power washing, a lot of sanitizing. But now comes a time to start putting those homes back together, to put the siding on, put the electrical and the plumbing and heating and things like that."

Their freezers alone cost $4,000 a month to maintain, but it`s an important part of feeding the volunteers at Hope Village and it`s also a concern when it comes to finances.

"We just assume and we keep praying that we’ll be able to sustain what we’re doing,” said Carbno.

With plans to expand the volunteer site next summer, Carbno anticipates to be in Minot till then. They will have to temporarily relocate for the winter, but the volunteer work from Hope Village won`t be ending any time soon.

The Hope Village website has updates and information on volunteers or donations: www.hopevillageend.org. Also, they are currently looking to hire a part-time, paid facilities manager.

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