An annual effort to refurbish houses in LaGrange will kick off Wednesday when volunteers will begin painting 15 houses around the city.

“Paint the Town,” sponsored by DASH for LaGrange Inc. for five years, has seen 69 houses painted so far

Youths from Twin Cedars Youth Services have volunteered every year.

“They love it,” said Nick Dunn, who coordinates the project for the agency. “They get as much or more out of it as the homeowner.”

Some of the youths still are in contact with an elderly woman whose house they painted several years ago. The youths also helped take care of her sick dog, fixed her hair, cooked for her and took her flowers.

“It’s helped the youths build strong relationships in the community,” Dunn said.

Troup County maintenance workers have volunteered for nearly every year of the project.

“We’re just glad to be able to help,” said Jerry Webb. “We have the ability and know-how from our job.”

It’s not hard to find volunteers at the maintenance shop, either.

“We had all but two sign up, and one of the guys was going to be on vacation the next week and didn’t want to get behind on his regular work,” Webb said.

One new group - of about 28 people, including five LaGrange Academy students - is “Organizing for America.” These groups popped up around the country after President Obama’s presidential campaign to keep the spirit of volunteerism going.

“At the close of the campaign, we all wanted to stay in contact and we all felt strongly about community service,” said team leader Theresa Beatty.

This is the local group’s first volunteer project, but she said members want to do more in the area.

“This is something the president encouraged us to do,” Beatty said. “What’s the point of having all that energy during the campaign and then to just stop.”

Beatty’s son Josh is one of the student volunteers. Beatty, who has a background in social work, said it’s important for parents to model good behavior, including active community service, for their children.

Volunteers are required to provide their own brushes, ladders and other painting tools, but DASH will pay for paint, water, ice and another necessary item - portable toilets. A group from Wal-Mart Distribution Center in La-Grange painted its house last week; another group plans to do their house in July.

Jennifer Shrader can be reached at jshrader@ lagrangenews.com or (706) 884-7311, Ext. 236.