For Bob and Peggy, Christian Appalachian Project and the Appalachian Mountains feel like home. They met here as volunteers, fell in love, and return as often as they can to continue sharing Christ’s love through service in Appalachia.

Peggy was a junior in high school when she read a newsletter looking for students to volunteer to help people in need in Appalachia. Peggy submitted an essay and was chosen to go. The first volunteer experience she had was picking cucumbers in McKee, Kentucky. Peggy found joy serving others, and the impact of her service changed her from that moment on. She began spending as much time as she could volunteering while working to complete her college degree. Once she graduated college, she applied for her first long-term volunteer commitment with CAP in 1972.

Serving as a Pre-K teacher at the Child and Family Development Center, Peggy loved getting to work with children every day. Not too long after starting her service, she met Bob, another volunteer working in CAP’s home repair program. As their love for CAP and our participants grew each day, so did their love for one another.

Peggy and Bob were married in 1974, and soon after, they both were hired on as full-time employees. Bob helped develop a group home at Camp Nelson, and Peggy worked at the Sunshine Center in Lancaster, Kentucky. They had their first child in 1976 and moved to St. Louis so they could raise their children close to their family.

Peggy and Bob have made several trips to CAP over the years. They served in 2006 and 2009, and made a special trip back in 2015 for CAP’s volunteer reunion. They could not believe how much CAP has grown and changed over the years.

“To describe what CAP means to me is almost too big. It touches your heart and never leaves. When we cross that state line and we’ve almost made it to CAP, it feels just like coming home!”