Drew Tavernor (left, on the porch), Father Kevin Laughery (holding the ladder) and another young volunteer from Ohio paint the home of an elderly woman in Pittsburgh, Penn. Tavernor and Father Laughery were participants from Holy Cross Parish who spent a week at Catholic HEART Workcamp this summer. Catholic youth and adult leaders annually travel to the workcamps around the country, assisting the poor, disabled and elderly. This summer, a good number of youth from around the diocese gave up some free time, trying to make a difference in lives of people in various parts of the United States. They set out to spend a week assisting others through Catholic HEART Workcamp (CHWC). Some groups were larger than others, but all the young people traveled with adult members of their parishes. Some of them were also accompanied by a parish priest.
During a typical Catholic HEART Workcamp experience youth groups travel together - usually on a bus - and then "camp" in a school building. Camp members receive manual service assignments and are grouped with people from other parishes for daytime work. After their work is completed each day, they return to the campsite for praise and worship, meals and evening programs. On the final day of camp, they "rest" and usually head out for a fun activity in the area.
Two parishes in the northwestern part of the diocese in the Quincy Deanery - Holy Family in Mt. Sterling and St. Thomas in Camp Point - recently joined together for a CHWC trip. A total of 34 individuals, including youth, adult chaperones and youth group leaders, left at 5 a.m. on July 19 from Brown County High School. The group was led by Joe and Sheryl Geisler, who have been leading the Holy Family Youth Group for 20 years and for the past nine years have orchestrated the details for CHWC trips.
After a couple of days on the road, they arrived at Plaquemine, La. Monday through Thursday, their work was varied and ranged from assisting social service agencies to painting, performing yard work, making minor repairs at homes of the needy and elderly, as well as completing some major reconstruction.
Like all CHWC groups, the group from the Quincy deanery enjoyed a free day on Friday, traveling to Golf Shores Beach, Ala., to have some fun on the beach. After another long bus ride, they were back home on the evening of July 26.
Anna Auxier paints a home in Virginia Beach, Va. Earlier in the summer, about 35 youth from Holy Cross Parish traveled to Pittsburgh, Penn., with their pastor, Father Kevin Laughery, and several other adults. The youth were from Auburn, Divernon, Pawnee and Waverly.
"A group of youth goes every year from our parish and this is the second year I have gone," said 15-year-old Drew Tavernor, one of the youth volunteers. "We left on June 28 and came back on July 4, so we just made it back in time for the Fourth of July. We split into teams, usually with five kids and an adult working together.
"We usually help out the elderly or the disabled. This year I worked at the home of a 90-year-old woman. The house really needed fixing up. We painted two bedrooms and the outside of the house," he said. "Last year I worked at the food bank in Oklahoma City."
At Holy Cross, students made a $100 deposit on the trip, which cost $450 per worker. "Then we do fund-raisers throughout the year. We have bake sales, trivia contests and things like that to help raise the money," Tavernor said.
Youth and chaperones from Holy Family Parish in Mt. Sterling and their sister parish, St. Thomas in Camp Point, pose for a group photo in their Catholic HEART Workcamp attire. Earlier in the summer, from June 14-22, 45 adults and teens from Church of St. Jude Parish in Rochester traveled to Virginia Beach, Va. St. Jude pastor, Father Dean Probst, also went with the group.
"Father Dean was the only priest at that camp, so he had double duty, with the priestly activities and helping out at the worksites," said Dan Frachey, director of Christian formation and one of the adult chaperones.
Additionally, six youth and three adults from St. James Parish in Riverton traveled to Louisville, Ky., where their pastor, Father Joseph Ring joined them for part of the week. Also in July, a group from St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Chatham traveled to Oklahoma City. Other parish youth from throughout the diocese also volunteered at other CHWC sites around the country.
Tavernor said no matter where the youth go, camp days are long but fulfilling, usually lasting from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Like many CHWC volunteers, he looks forward to volunteering again. "A lot of my friends from church go. It really is something that I enjoy doing," he says. "I want to go again next year."