buildingfutures
A GLIMPSE INTO MOUNTAIN OUTREACH
spoken.
Amber's father passed away when she was a baby, and her mother was addicted to drugs. Amber was raised by her great-grandmother until she was diagnosed with dementia. Not long after, Amber became pregnant. At the time, she was living with her sister, who sometimes refused to give Amber food in order to save money for her own substance abuse. Amber was starving – for food, for care, and for the chance to get out and create a better life for her child than she'd ever had herself.
Remembering that time in her life makes her emotional. Through tears, Amber explains, "My sister
school. I had to. That was the only way I could get food, the only way I could get insurance for my baby. I went to school every day until she was born, and I finished my diploma after."
Pregnancy had its struggles when it came to high school life, like having to walk up and down flights of stairs and being unable to fit inside the desks that had the desk attached to the chair. Amber had to sit sideways to make room for her pregnant belly.
Now, Amber is a student at University of the Cumberlands and is almost finished with her degree. She has taken several classes that pertain to both human services and social work, so she's
The Mountain Outreach team is currently working on a new home for the Kubat family (shown on the front). Amber is a Cumberlands student and hopes to raise her young family in this home.
still deciding which of those majors she wants to officially earn a degree in. But regardless of her choice, her goal is the same: to help people in the community.
She and her husband, Kyle, both come from tough backgrounds. His father was never present in his life, and his mother suffered from alcoholism, so he also had to rely on other family members, his friends, and mostly himself in order to get through school and start making enough money to become more independent.
"I have always dreamed of being able to give my kids better than what I got. We want them to have the best, like we never had."
This past year, Amber took the opportunity to apply for, and was ultimately granted, a new home built through Cumberlands’ Mountain Outreach program. The home is being built at Hutton Woods, property owned by Mountain Outreach and granted to the families as part of the home build process.
Amber Worley
Home Recipient
To support his family, Kyle works as a welder and sometimes has to travel for extended periods for his job. With Amber being a full-time college student, paying for childcare wasn't an option. Thankfully, Cumberlands offers the classes she needs online so she can complete her schoolwork between caring for their daughters and doing housework. Cumberlands is giving her the opportunity to earn a degree that will secure betterpaying jobs for her future – meaning a more stable and secure life for their children.
She says, "I have always dreamed of being able to give my kids better than what I got. We want them to have the best, like we never had."
“We were looking for a forever home,” Amber said. “We've been in this trailer for three or four years. And we're ready to, you know, move forward. We are renting and we're excited to be able to get this opportunity for this home so that we can actually pay towards something, you know, that's going to be there forever.”
The new home is expected to be ready for the young family in April. Amber is expected to graduate from Cumberlands in May, another big moment for the young family. Their children, Lallie, age four, and Laklynn, age one, will have their own rooms, and together the family can create a future like Amber has dreamed of.
“The most important reason I have for this home is for my kids to grow up in something that I never did,” she said. “My kids will never, ever feel the way I felt growing up. We want them to have the best that we
“I hope that when these student-athletes finish their time at UC, we have instilled in them the importance of always giving a helping hand.”
Those are the words of Kris Strebeck, head coach for the University of the Cumberlands archery team. Strebeck, his assistant coach Caleb Kirby, and his national championship team had just completed a service project for Mountain Outreach. They were building beds to donate to children in the area, many of whom don’t have an adequate place to lie down at night. It’s just one of the many projects Strebeck and his teams have completed over the years.
“There have always been a variety of projects to help those in need,” Kirby said. “I feel like it (service projects) gave me important life skills when I was an athlete, and they do the same for our athletes now.”
Kirby says the team has been involved with service projects at Mountain Outreach since 2012. But, for both men, the commitment to service begins well before that. Both are graduates of Cumberlands and know well the university’s commitment to servant leadership.
Strebeck is a 2002 graduate of Cumberlands. He played football and majored in public health. He is the inaugural coach of the archery program, taking the reins there in 2011. Kirby graduated from Cumberlands in 2016. He competed under Strebeck and stayed around, now coaching in his fifth season. The two men have coached and mentored hundreds of student-athletes while working hard on the field to capture 11 overall team national championships.
“We always tell the team that there are people in other places that are not as fortunate as they are, and they are making an impact in someone else’s life,” Strebeck said. He said his team benefits from the service in three ways: they give back to the community, can focus on teamwork, and bond as peers.
“We always try and do something early in the school year so the team can learn about each other while also seeing what they can accomplish when they work together,” he said.
Kirby added, “Having a task to work on with people you're learning about makes the team bonding
happen a little more naturally because you aren't focused on what you don't know about that person. You're just learning as you work.”
This is the second year the team has focused on the bed-build project with Mountain Outreach. That initiative began in 2018 when a local organization, called the B Squad, connected with Mountain Outreach to expand their help to the community. MO helps fund the project while organizing the bed builds and delivery to those in need around the community.
“Becoming successful in archery is a process, and this bed build project is very similar to that,” Kirby said. “There are different stations where students are working on a specific process of the bed, and each step has to be done according to detail. That helps them learn patience and commitment just like on the range.”
In addition to this project, Strebeck says his teams have helped build wheelchair ramps, painted houses, painted the historic train station in town, painted benches at the park, built porches for several local citizens, and assisted with MO gift days.
“Our team always has a sense of accomplishment when they finish a project,” Strebeck said. “Maybe in life, they will continue to give back.”
Kirby echoed Strebeck’s sentiment.
“As coaches of the team, we can't just tell kids they need to be involved
2024 IN REVIEW
Partnered with 17 schools/ organizations to purchase 3,181 Christmas gifts for 644 individuals.
Completed more than 30 repair projects for families in the community.
Built an estimated 38 beds for families in need. Distributed 23 pre-made beds to families in need.
Constructing two new homes located in Whitley County, Kentucky.
The archery team shows off the finished product. The team has assisted Mountain Outreach with various service projects since 2012.
SASKO FAMILY BUILDING LOVE INSIDE NEW HOME
“We hadn't lived anywhere longer than a year for the last five years. To have a place that's actually home, that is very exciting. And to have a home where our kids can make memories is wonderful."
Kelsey Sasko, her husband James, and their three young children are facing a new year together and are seeing the finishing touches on a new home come to fruition. The young family was one of two families selected in 2024 to receive a home from Mountain Outreach. By spring, they expect to have the keys to their new home.
"Mountain Outreach is just such a blessing for us."
James Sasko Home Recipient
James recently moved his family to Kentucky from Virginia. But, this young family is currently sharing a home with James’ parents. There have been four adults and three children living under one roof. It's doable, James says, and the family enjoys the extra time they get to spend together, but with the kids growing up, James' family is excited for the change.
James said, "When I told my wife (about being selected for the house), she began crying on the phone with excitement. We thought it would be good for us, so we'd hoped and prayed for it. And it came around. It's an answered prayer and is just such a blessing to us."
Sasko home last July. By September, the Sasko family was watching the walls of their new home rise from the foundation.
The home is located close to James' parents' house, which the parents, of course, are just fine with. James will pay a mortgage on the new home, like all MO home recipients. And, like all MO homes, it will be built with high-quality materials and good technique. The house will finally be a place large enough for the Sasko’s growing family, and it will be all their own.
"We're still excited about it, and a little nervous too," James said. "We're hoping that nothing goes wrong, you know, just because we're so excited about it."
“We tend to walk down there a lot and talk like ‘this is where this room will be and here is where this room will be,’” James said.
And now, excitement builds as the MO team moves toward interior work and getting the home move in ready. The scheduled completion date is April 1.
“Mountain Outreach is just such a blessing for us,” James added. “We do not really have to worry about some of the things we've worried about in the last year.”
MO MAKING HOMES ACCESSIBLE FOR OTHERS
Most people take their ability to walk for granted, easily walking up and down stairs, even if they’re ill. Some don’t get to experience that luxury anymore. For those people in need, the MO staff worked to provide them with the ramps and stairs the families need to get some of their freedom and independence back.
It’s these type of projects that seem relatively minor when compared to building a house, but for some, the impact is just as great.
Tony Thomas, a local man whose wife is handicapped, said, “All we had were steps up to our house. My wife can’t walk. I’m 78, she’s 80. I’m not as strong as I used to be, so I need help getting her down the steps when she needs to go to the doctor and things.”
MO stepped in, and, thanks to donor funding, was able to build a sturdy new wheelchair ramp for the Thomases at no cost to the family.
He mentioned how much the ramp has changed his and his wife’s lives. “Now, I can get her to the car and back in the house on my own,” he said. “Before, I was stuck unless I got ahold of my son across town or my neighbor. We were really stuck for a while, but we’re doing okay now.”
This project is just one small example of how Mountain Outreach has gone into the community and met a need.
building futures A GLIMPSE INTO MOUNTAIN OUTREACH
Spring 2025 VOLUME 16
Mountain Outreach is a non-profit service organization operated by University of the Cumberlands. Since the organization’s inception in 1982, more than 150 homes have been built from the ground up in Southeastern Kentucky, and renovations have been completed on hundreds more. The program’s outreach also includes numerous service projects that help children, the elderly, and financially-struggling families with critical and urgent needs.
For more information about how to help, please visit ucumberlands.edu/mountainoutreach
