Jeremy Brown checked on some job applications that he sent out, then went down to 1306 7th Ave. to volunteer on Thursday morning.
Brown is an unemployed, recovering drug addict. He's got tattoos on his arms and neck and holes in his jeans, but on this warm Friday after Thanksgiving, he was standing on a ladder applying more siding to an elderly woman's home.
"It feels good just being out of the house doing something," Brown said.
Brown was among people from Emmanuel Baptist Church working on the house with a group of five people from Rising Sun, Maryland. The Thanksgiving weekend project was brought together by Mike Shinn, who started Hands On West Virginia, a movement to help rebuild the West Side of town.
"Over Thanksgiving we felt like giving back a little bit would be more rewarding than sitting around a big meal," said Christine Smythe, from Jane's United Methodist Church in Rising Sun.
Smythe and her husband, Butch, who was standing on the back roof of the house, were married during a service trip to Alabama, and every year they look for ways to give back.
The couple had participated in a youth group mission to Charleston earlier this summer (where they helped put flooring on the same house) and wanted to come back over the break to finish some of the work they had started.
The goal of this trip was to put siding around the house. The church had already painted this house three times and it hadn't made too much of a difference, so the group decided it was time to switch to vinyl siding for easier maintenance.
Matt Renzo, a seventh grader from Rising Sun, got to help cut the siding before it went on to the house.
"I love coming out and giving to other people rather than being selfish," Renzo said.
This particular project is part of a bigger plan by Shinn and his Hands On West Virginia project. Shinn wants to raise money for supplies from corporations and people, and he wants to get volunteers to help rebuild the community. He thinks the rebuilding effort will help people take pride in where they live.
"When I was growing up here the slogan was 'the West Side is the best side,'" Shinn said. "And we've got to bring that back."
Shinn grew up on the West Side in Charleston, but he moved away to start similar volunteer movements in other cities. About a year ago he decided to come back home.
Standing in the backyard, watching as the group layered siding onto the house, Shinn said he felt a great spirit.
"That kind of spirit is what I remember from the west side," Shinn said. "Neighbors helping neighbors, friends helping friends."
Of course, there's always another reason for going out and helping the community.
"It beats sitting at home," Brown said.
Reach Dan Desrochers at dan.desrochers@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4886 or follow @ddesrochers on Twitter.