Trinity United Methodist Church of Bamberg hosted the annual Salkehatchie Summer Service Program, at Trinity United Methodist Church in Bamberg. Trinity United Methodist Church has hosted the camp for 16 years. Again this year, volunteers from out of town camped at the Church in Bamberg.

Campers begin each day with breakfast at 6 a.m. and then it’s off to the worksites. Each site is assigned adult leaders and a crew of volunteers to complete work ranging from: roofing, plumbing, and flooring to painting and re-decorating with necessary items like linens and bedding.

The group of student workers are composed of volunteers from all over the state of South Carolina with the United Methodist Church Conference. As pleasing as it is for the families serviced by the Salkehatchie Summer Service Program, the reward is even greater for the volunteers who pay $200 per summer to participate in the program and get a chance to serve others.

According to their website, the Salkehatchie Summer Service Program is a pioneering servant ministry at selected sites in South Carolina. Participants including high school students (must be at least 14). College age youth, adult community leaders and persons of different cultures, are engaged in upgrading housing and motivating community cooperative efforts by helping people to help themselves. Salkehatchie Summer Service is a program of the South Carolina Conference Board of Global Ministries. The program is not an 8 to 5 job. “The whole week, we serve, grow, learn and share together,” according to the program’s website.