.As a U.S. Air Force master sergeant with more than 1,000 combat hours in Iraq and Afghanistan, John Whitaker has seen hardship. But he couldn’t believe his eyes when he returned to Gastonia.

“I’ve been in military 24 years — traveled the world. I’ve seen poverty,” said Whitaker. “I couldn’t believe someone was living in those conditions. I couldn’t believe that was happening in my hometown.”

As executive director of Hope 4 Gaston, Whitaker has had a hand in transforming 76 houses in the city by mobilizing thousands of volunteers and working with the city government.

Now, he and Bethlehem Church Pastor Dickie Spargo are setting their sights on how the faith-based community improvement program can expand its reach to other towns in the area.

“What we would ultimately like to do is to have an event in Belmont, in Bessemer City, in Mount Holly — in different parts of the county on the same day,” said Spargo

Whitaker says about 6,000 people came out for the most recent Hope 4 Gaston on May 1, including former Los Angeles Lakers player and Gastonia native James Worthy. Organizers held a block party, a free flea market and food handouts in addition to the home repairs.

“People started lining up for the free flea market at 5 in the morning,” said Whitaker. “That just really puts an exclamation point on the need.”

Whitaker and Hope 4 Gaston organizers are still calculating the figures from the last event, but he estimates that the volunteer work force for the first two events saved low-income residents and the city about $600,000 in labor costs.

“It’s a perfect marriage. The city’s throwing money at us, the churches want to help,” he said. “The long-term goal is to keep it going.”

Living conditions in Gastonia have been deteriorating in several areas, including Highland, where city officials estimate that, with the exception of Habitat for Humanity homes, the last new housing was constructed in 1968. The city of Gastonia has condemned and demolished more than 100 homes in that area, where median household incomes range from about $15,000 to $25,975.

However, as the Hope 4 Gaston organizers see it, repairs are only part of the big picture.

“When it comes down to it, it’s really about relationships,” explained Spargo. “When we have different churches, different races, it’s really a picture of how people in the community are coming together.”

Whitaker said he has even knocked on strangers’ doors in some neighborhoods to introduce himself and see how his organization might be of help.

“My mom tells me I have pretty much 200 mothers running around town,” he said. “In the end, it’s not about painting houses or pounding nails.”

Whitaker is leaving this summer for his seventh deployment overseas. He regrets that he will not be able to join Gastonia’s All-America City delegation to Kansas City in June, but organizers of the trip have announced that they will dedicate it in his honor.

“That was so humbling that they would do that,” said Whitaker.

Spargo says plans haven’t been set yet for the next Hope 4 Gaston, but there are ideas in the works.

“We really don’t think there’s any reason for anyone in our community to sleep on the floor, to go to bed hungry or to have a house that’s caving in,” he said.