Earlier this summer, Appalachia Service Project changed David Lee's life.
"I didn't know the people from Adam," Lee said of the ministry's volunteers. "They jumped in and fixed me up."
Before the non-profit got involved, Lee's Elizabethton home wasn't handicap accessible, a problem since he is confined to a wheelchair.
"If the house was to catch on fire or anything was to go wrong, I couldn't go out of the house," Lee said.
That's not an issue anymore. Thanks to the ministry that has helped repair low-income family homes for nearly 40 years across the Tri-Cities region, Lee now has a safe wheelchair ramp leading up to his home.
Although ASP helped Lee, after decades of helping others, Appalachia Service Project is now in need of some help of its own. ASP Chief Executive Officer Susan Crow says a decrease in donations has left the non-profit more than $100,000 under budget. Crow says donors that formerly gave at a certain level are unable to continue at that same level or at all due to today's economic pinch.
"We have put out a plea for the public for assistance," Crow said.
ASP's annual goal is to make a difference for 450 people who live in dilapidated homes. With a budget of $600,000 that usually isn't a problem, but this year that goal is in jeopardy. If the ministry can't come up with $100,000, Crow says 40 families won't get the help they need, this, in a year, when ASP hoped to help more people.
"Today we are at the lowest cash level as an organization that we have been at in seven years," Crow said.
She blames the economy. At this time last year, ASP says 3,729 people donated money. So far in 2008, the ministry reports that only 3,334 people have donated. Crow says the amount of gifts has also decreased, down 12% this year.
For those reasons, she keeps hammering away at her message.
"We are just relying on the generosity of our community to help us continue to serve families as the winter approaches," Crow said.
For the first time ever, ASP is sending out an urgent request. It is asking people to contribute by visiting its website, www.ASPhome.org/give or by mailing in gifts to Appalachia Service Project, 4523 Bristol Highway, Johnson City, TN 37601.
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