River City Community Development Corp. is preparing to host about 400 teen and adult volunteers this summer who will be in town to fix up the homes of local residents.

The volunteers will be in Elizabeth City June 16-22 to participate in the Elizabeth City Workcamp, which provides free home repairs through the Group Cares program, sponsored locally by River City CDC.

Group Cares is a non-profit, inter-denominational Christian volunteer home-repair organization headquartered in Loveland, Co. About 25,000 volunteers will participate in 48 Workcamps in communities across the United States and Canada this summer.

Workcamp participants, all members of church youth groups, volunteer a week of their time to repair homes in host communities.

“This represents about 12,000 hours of volunteer labor, with a total economic impact to the community of over $300,000,” said Lenora Jarvis-Mackey, president/CEO of River City CDC.

Jeff Thompson, of Group Cares, said each volunteer is actually “paying for the privilege of working in your community.” Workcamp registration fees are used to cover costs for food, insurance and building materials, Thompson said.

“These really are remarkable young people,” he said in a press release.

The Elizabeth City Workcamp will be housed at a local public school with campers sleeping in classrooms, eating in the cafeteria, and enjoying evening programs in the gym, according to River City CDC.

“This service to the community would be impossible without the wonderful cooperation of the public school and the entire community,” said Jarvis-Mackey.

RCCDC has been providing this home repair service to the community for over 10 years.

The idea behind the Workcamps started in Colorado in 1977 when residents suffered from the Big Thompson River flood in which hundreds of homes were damaged or destroyed and over 140 people lost their lives, according to River City CDC. Church youth groups of many different denominations came from across the country the next summer to help.

Repairs offered through the Workcamp include interior and exterior painting, weatherization, porch and wheelchair ramp construction, and other work.

Approximately 70 homes in Pasquotank County will be chosen through an application process. River City CDC is seeking donations and volunteers for their 2013 summer youth GroupWork Camp.

For additional information on volunteering or how to donate, contact River City CDC at 331-2925 or visit 501 East Main St., Elizabeth City.