Just5Days is a five-day experience of hands-on learning activities, service, prayer and liturgy, and community building designed for middle school youth and their adult leaders from Catholic parishes and schools.

Each participant does approximately 15 hours of service, said Kyle Holtgrave, associate director for Youth and Young Adult Ministry, who is traditionally the site coordinator for Just5Days. The volunteers were housed at St. Agnes School on North Amos in Springfield. They arrived on Monday, completed their service days on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and returned home on Friday.

Workers typically work about five hours a day, Holtgrave said. Since Just5Days is a Catholic camp, during the evenings the groups take part in activities that help them make the connection between how their work serves others and what the Catholic Church teaches about the human family.

Basically, the youth learn about Catholic social teaching, the importance of social justice and have fun while they are learning, Holtgrave explained. “There were groups at St. Joseph’s Home, St. Katharine Drexel Parish, Boys and Girls Club property on Lake Springfield, Holy Family Food Pantry, in the Enos Park neighborhood and a few other places,” he said.

Although the volunteers expected to be working in typical hot and muggy conditions that usually prevail in central Illinois during July, workers were pleasantly surprised at the cool, sunny almost autumn-like conditions that week. “We really lucked out with this weather,” said adult volunteer Lisa Jordan, as she helped to paint a fence at St. Joseph’s Home. Jordan and her group came to Springfield from Ss. Peter and Paul Parish in Cary.

Besides working in Springfield, other Just5Days crews were at work this summer in Appleton, Wis., Austin, Texas, Kansas City, Kan., Springfield, Mass., and in Belleville.    

For more information on Just5Days, contact Kyle Holtgrave at (217) 698-8500 or email him at .