Teenagers Lend a Helping Hand to Williamsburg Neighbors in Need

Anheuser-Busch and Community Agency Team Up for 'Green Team' Program

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (Aug. 3, 2009) - Nine high school students in Williamsburg are making a difference by repairing homes and learning valuable job skills as part of a summer program supported by Anheuser-Busch that helps needy, elderly and disabled residents with home improvements.

The students paint and make home repairs. They put in steps and ramps. They pour concrete and help make homes more energy efficient. They landscape and beautify. And they do it all for their neighbors who otherwise would not be able to get such needed projects off the ground.

"You should read some of the thank you letters we get," said Reba Bolden, executive director of the Williamsburg-James City County Community Action Agency, adding that the program has been supported for more than a decade by the Anheuser-Busch Williamsburg brewery. "People are very appreciative."

Anheuser-Busch provided $30,000 this year for the WJCC-CCA to implement the Green Team Program, said Greg Suellentrop, general manager of the Williamsburg brewery.  

"The work the team does is remarkable," Suellentrop said. "They make a difference in people's lives. And the students also learn important skills and values themselves - what it means to give back to the community. When you see how the students can truly make a difference by helping out one individual at a time, it makes all of us at the Anheuser-Busch Williamsburg brewery very proud."

Student participation in the program is on a competitive basis. The students on this year's Green Team were selected from their written applications, interviews and personal recommendations from school officials.

Students from various local schools are participating this year, including Warhill High School (Dennis Martin), Lafayette High (Jaquan Johnson, Autumn Wildner, William Hayes and D'Angelo Scales), Jamestown High School (Natasha Stamper, Anthony Green, Phillip Saunders and Keith Robinson).

Mel Jones, a retired teacher and coach from the Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools, serves as Crew Chief for the Green Team, and provides mentoring for the students. Jones retired last year after a 32-year career with the district.

The brewery and the WJCC-CCA kicked off the program on June 29 and will conclude its projects on Aug. 7.  This summer, the team has focused its efforts on four properties, Bolden said. Members of the Green Team are paid $9 per hour and work eight hours per day Monday through Friday for the duration of the program.

. "The team is staying very busy," Bolden said. "When they get through at the end of the day, they're ready to go to bed. They're doing great work and helping people who really need it, and at the same time they learning some useful skills."

This year, Anheuser-Busch will sponsor Green Team and similar programs throughout the 12 cities in the United States in which it operates breweries.

In the last decade, Anheuser-Busch has contributed to numerous local groups and organizations in the Williamsburg area, including the United Way, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg-James City-York Community Action Agency, Salvation Army, Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters, Boy Scouts of America, Colonial Coast Girl Scout Council, Big Brothers & Big Sisters, Junior Women's Club, Rita Welsh Adult Literacy, Williamsburg Land Conservancy and others.

The WJCC-CAA is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to reduce the causes and conditions of poverty in the area.  The agency''s objective is to serve economically and socially disadvantaged individuals and families in a way that enables them to become self-sufficient.

Over the history of the program approximately 150 students have participated in the Green Team program supported by the Anheuser-Busch Williamsburg brewery.