Does your house need a little sprucing up?

If you live in Salt Lake City or South Salt Lake and qualify, the World Changers youth organization could stop by in July and re-roof your house, give it new siding, new windows or even paint the place -- all for free.

This will be the fourth year the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention sends volunteers to Utah. Work crews made up of junior high, high school and college students will be accompanied by adults with construction expertise to work on 25 or more homes during the week of July 12.

During the past three years, the organization has brought some 750 volunteers to Utah and made fix-ups of all kinds on 78 houses, according to Sara Hiatt, Salt Lake City Office of Housing & Neighborhood.

"We try to target low-income, elderly or disabled residents," she said.

In order to qualify, a family of two must make less that $41,800 a year; a family of four must have an income below $52,250; and a family of six must make less than $60,600.

Potential recipients should apply through Salt Lake City by March 1. Residents of both Salt Lake City and South Salt Lake can apply.

World Changers participates in such housing rehab programs in about 100 U.S. cities. During the past two decades, those youth volunteers have rehabilitated more than 20,000 houses nationwide, according to the program's Web site.

About 300 students from across the country are expected to participate in this year's Utah program, said Sean Patrick, associate pastor at the Holladay Baptist Church, who acts as Salt Lake-area coordinator for annual youth project.

The North American Mission Board seeks volunteers from church groups for the one-week "mission." Each of the participants spends $250 out of pocket to participate in the program.

"They are paying money to sleep on the floor and work hard," Patrick said. "Their heart's desire is to show God's love in a tangible way."

Some 25 teams of 11 members each will tackle make-overs identified through the application process. The volunteers will work from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. during a five-day period in July. The crews are comprised so that older volunteers take on more difficult tasks, Patrick noted.

"Typically, you don't see teenagers do this. But they come ready to work," he said. "It's cool to see the amount of work they get done. And at the end, they come away with a feeling of accomplishment."

Last summer, April Pogue got a brand new roof for her Rose Park home thanks to World Changers.

"I am totally amazed and shocked that these people would give up their time for someone they didn't even know," she said. "It's great."

The youth do the work but Salt Lake City and South Salt Lake supply the materials. Much of the paint and building supplies are donated by local businesses. Community block grant funds make up the difference.

For homeowners who apply for World Changers but aren't selected, Salt Lake City has other home-repair programs that it can offer with low-interest or no-interest loans, Hiatt said.

csmart@sltrib.com