SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KTIV) -
A group of young people are trying to change the world one home at a time.
More than 140 volunteers are fixing up homes on Sioux City's North and West sides.
Most had never met before this week. Now, they're working side-by-side, to help spruce things up.
"We've been up here working on the house. We've gotten to interact with the homeowners, the neighbors. Tell them just about Jesus, what He's like and what He means to us," said Cole Mills of Sioux City.
With each brush stroke, the teens bond.
"Talking about where you're from or what you do. You get to know about the other states and about the other people, and it just makes it that much more fun," said Shattuck Swenson of Powell, Wyoming.
Many are caulking or staining for the first time, but most are excited to join a decade-long tradition in Sioux City.
"I really like helping people and all my family has done World Changers and it looked really fun to go help people," said Macey Matthews of Tahlequah, Oklahoma.
World Changers is a faith-based organization that sends out more than 18,000 students to 85 cities across the country. These volunteers donate a week of their summer, to improve the community.
"Not only to learn how to fix things, so they can use it later, but it also develops a good work ethic. And they get a chance to share their testimony," said Melody Dugan, a group leader from Glenrock, Wyoming.
While their days have been long, at the end of the week, they'll be able to see what a difference they've made.
Cole Mills said, "It's amazing. Just every time I come here, I grow in my faith. It's just eye-opening."
"It'll mean the world to me, knowing that we did this for an old lady that is unable to do this and she didn't have to pay for a single thing for it," said Swenson.
Since World Changers started in 1990, nearly 330,000 students have taken part in community projects.
The City of Sioux City, the South Sioux City School District, Northwest Iowa Southern Baptist Association and other local businesses donated more than $30,000 to make this week possible.
