WINNSBORO – From July 11–18, a team of 35 volunteers transformed the lives of four Fairfield County families as part of the annual Fairfield Salkehatchie Summer Service Camp.
Led once again by Frank and Dee Gravely, the group—consisting of approximately 20 adult leaders and 15 teenage participants—spent the week performing intensive labor on four residences across the county. Three of the homes were located in western Fairfield County, while a fourth was situated near the historic Rion-Rockton granite quarry.
The teams installed new roofs on three of the homes and performed extensive repairs on the fourth. According to Winnsboro Lions Club member Paul Dove, one team may have even set a program milestone.
“Team leader, Frank Gravely, reported that his team installed 18 squares—that’s 54 bundles—of shingles in a single day,” Dove said. “That must be a world record for an all-volunteer Salkehatchie crew.”
The logistics of the operation were a community effort. Volunteers utilized a farm tractor and bucket to lift heavy materials to the rooftops, while several local organizations provided the financial and physical support necessary to keep the camp running. A grant from Fairfield Electric Cooperative’s Round-Up Board underwrote the majority of the material expenses.
The camp was headquartered at Winnsboro’s First Baptist Church Family Life Center. Breakfast preparation began at 5 a.m. to ensure workers were on-site by 6 a.m. Breakfast was provided by a crew including Michelle Taylor, Sarah Bryant, Joseph Dorety, and Bobbie and Paul Dove, representing the Winnsboro Lions Club and First United Methodist Church.
Noon meals were hosted at Salem Presbyterian Church on Highway 215, a central location for the work sites, with various local churches providing food for the hungry crews.
The week included a special visit from Salkehatchie founding pastor John Culp, who addressed the group during lunch on Tuesday. He thanked the volunteers for keeping the mission alive, noting that since its inception in 1978, Salkehatchie has rehabilitated over 8,000 homes across South Carolina.
“Pastor Culp said this is God’s work and gives volunteers the opportunity to serve in a unique capacity in each community,” Dove said.
The program concluded on Friday afternoon with a moving tradition: all volunteers traveled to each work site to view the improvements. At each stop, a student worker explained the repairs made, and the homeowner had the opportunity to share their gratitude.
“Hearing what was done and then how the homeowner reacts to the work brings tears to your eyes,” Dove said.
Salkehatchie is a faith-based program where volunteers actually pay for the privilege of participating, often underwritten by their home churches. As they look toward the 50th anniversary of the program next year, the volunteers of the Fairfield camp say they carry home something far more valuable than the official camp T-shirt.
Quoting Matthew 25:40, Dove noted the spiritual heartbeat of the week: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
The Fairfield Salkehatchie camp was sponsored by the Winnsboro Lions Club, the First United Methodist Church of Winnsboro, the First Baptist Church of Winnsboro, and Salem Presbyterian Church, among many other supporting local congregations.