Every year, millions of Americans travel great distances for mission trips internationally and domestically. Mission Trip Birdsboro & Beyond (MTBB) does things a little bit differently.

Instead of hopping on a plane and travelling to another continent, MTBB helps local families with service projects that include painting, repairing decks, installing flooring, replacing siding and doing yard work.

This year, 142 volunteers worked on 63 sites over the course of four days from July 15 to 18, primarily in Birdsboro and the surrounding areas of Reading, Pottstown and Douglassville.

"The idea was having mission trips here at home," said MTBB board member Stuart Wells. "There's plenty of things and plenty of people that need help. ... Why spend the money and do all of that when there are people who need help right here in our backyard."

Early in the year, those in need submit assistance applications to MTBB. Then, during the four-day event, MTBB volunteers will donate their time to complete the service projects. Materials for the projects are wholly donated by community sponsors.

The number of volunteers has increased steadily since the program's inception in 2014, particularly in the aftermath of COVID-19. Many of the volunteers come from local churches, which contribute to the program, but there is no designated religious affiliation with MTBB; anyone is welcome to volunteer or request help.

"The point was to try and live out what Christ's teachings were and what it says in the Gospel," Wells said. "You're supposed to be out loving your neighbor.

"It's not about being part of a club or something," he went on. "You don't have to be. The point is to be there for people."

Each morning, volunteers gathered at St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Birdsboro, where church members prepared breakfast for the volunteers, who then departed to the various work sites with provided packed lunches. The days also ended at St. Mark's, where participants took part in a prayer service and ate dinner.

MTBB maintains storage sheds at St. Mark's where building materials and paint are stored for the various projects. St. Mark's was also the location of one of the service projects this year; volunteers made catnip-filled toys for the Animal Rescue League of Berks County, providing enrichment for shelter animals while they await adoption.

Many of the volunteers are of retirement age, but there's also younger, even college-age, men and women among the 142 volunteers.

There was a wide array of volunteers at a home in Reading, where MTBB repaired a loose porch railing, removed and replaced the front steps, reinforced a shed door and replaced skirting to prevent wild critters from taking residence under the home.

"It's very satisfying to get out and be able to make a difference on houses," said Greg Frey, a pastor.

"It's a mixture of the community of people you work with and wanting to help people," said Mark Smith, a student at Susquehanna University. "Also, me being a young guy, if I shut up for a while, I learn some things."

In its 13 years of existence, MTBB has helped over a thousand local families with projects that range from groundskeeping to safety issues. It has no plans to slow down anytime soon.