The Service Over Self Christian youth mission project has been assisting those who need help in the Vicksburg and Warren County community for the past 25 years.

Also called SOS, the mission project brings youth and adults together for one week to help make repairs on local homes that would otherwise remain in disrepair.

Lee Ann Whitley, who serves as one of the coordinators of the project, said that SOS has helped hundreds of homeowners through the years and in addition to the homeowner’s experience, “The youth volunteers receive a better understanding of what it is like to help someone, and they are exposed to some of the difficult living conditions still present in our community.”

Whitley added that for the adults who volunteer, they get the opportunity to work alongside committed youth and together make a cooperative effort for the good of all involved.

SOS was started at Crawford Street United Methodist Church, Whitely said, but now several community churches have become sponsors, and youth and adult volunteers who participate represent anywhere from 12 to 15 area churches of all denominations.

In addition to Whitley, Bob Moss and Daniel Renfroe also serve as heads of SOS.

For a homeowner to qualify for assistance, Whitely said SOS volunteers visit with the potential homeowner and talk with them directly about their home and their life situation.

“A variety of factors determine who we can help, but basically we are looking for someone with a need who does not have the means to fix the home, Whitley said. “We then must determine if the scope of the work can be accomplished with the skill level of volunteers we have within the five days we have to work. These factors help us prioritize the homes into a list. How many homes we address on that list depends on the number of volunteers and their skill levels.

“We once reinforced the floor joist of an entire room from underneath the house while simultaneously reframing the roof above for an elderly lady who asked us to just make the house last as long as her,” Whitley said, adding, “That was a hard request to ignore.”

Additional repairs that have been provided in past years have included roofing, framing, putting up siding, painting, cleaning, hedge trimming and debris removal.

SOS also has an evening component, where youth and adult volunteers get to have some fun.

On Monday night, Whitley said the “ever popular cross-town scavenger hunt,” will be held. Other activities that will be offered are a night of bowling and a swim party at the Verbeck YMCA pool.

“On Thursday night we will have our family dinner, where we invite our homeowners,” Whitley said. This event will be followed by a closing worship service.

SOS week will run from Sunday, June 17 to Saturday June 23 and for anyone who would like to volunteer, call Whitley at 601-636-5612.

Traditionally, for those who spend the night at the church during SOS week, they have been housed at CSUMC, but because of some structural damage that occurred, this year longtime SOS partner Hawkins UMC has volunteered its facilities, Whitley said.

Currently the SOS list includes 10 homes, Whitley said, but the final count will depend on how many volunteers show up for the week. 

“SOS is always in need of additional adult volunteers to help supervise on the worksites and the number of adult volunteers directly correlates to how many sites we can work,” she said.

Anticipated repairs this year include replacing rotten subfloors, replacing existing siding, painting, rescue ending porches and patching roofs.

For those who would like to help out with SOS in supplementary ways, support tasks include supply runners, food preparation, photographers, snack delivery, opening and closing worship service speakers and evening activities planning. 

“Many charitable activities have a focus on certain volunteers being ‘special’ to the purpose or the success of the program,” Whitley said. “There are a great many volunteers and homeowners as well, who are involved to create a benefit for all who are involved, these ‘many’ are the lynchpin to this ministry, and it really requires many.”