SALEM — Sts. Mary and Joseph Parish of Salem is gearing up to bring a “Big Day of Serving” to the area in the fall of 2013.

The parish is forming a committee to take a local community by storm.

“Five hundred teens and adults come into the community for the day and take on service projects,” said Susan Levesque, community director for the parish.

The day typically begins at 8 a.m. After completing 40 to 50 projects, the volunteers close the day with a block party celebration.

To be chosen, a project must be something that a resident is not physically or financially able to do alone, and it must be able to be completed in the course of one day, Levesque said.

Projects may include landscaping, building playgrounds and painting, among other things.

“Ideally, we try to stay in one community for the Big Day of Serving,” Levesque said.

Last spring volunteers revitalized the French Hill neighborhood in Nashua by painting, landscaping, cleaning and beautifying city parks, and cleaning and making repairs at Tolles Street Mission and Upper Room Compassion Ministries.

The project is a Christian-based function, but anyone is welcome to join in, Levesque said. The project is inspiring for volunteers and residents alike.

“It really gives people a new experience of what kids are really capable of,” Levesque said.

The kids involved in the campaign plan to take on even more projects by bringing a work camp to the area in 2014. The parish is currently searching for a local facility that can house about 400 volunteers for a week as they tackle larger projects within a half-hour radius.

“It’s powerful for the community,” Levesque said of the venture.

Sixteen teens and five adults from Sts. Mary and Joseph Parish recently joined about 400 volunteers from around the country in a work camp serving elderly and low-income residents in Hamilton, Ohio. The camp theme was “Look! I am making everything new,” and it included projects such as roofing, painting, building wheelchair ramps and repairing porch railings.

Local volunteers also plan to participate in an Appalachian work camp next year.

The teens’ enthusiasm shows how caring they are, Levesque said.

“Kids often get a negative image, but these volunteers raise money to work for free,” Levesque said.

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Julie Hanson may be reached at Jhanson@newstote.com.