This past week we were privileged to have a group of enthusiastic youth from the Catholic Heart Workcamp give many service hours to our Home. We had over 15 young people from all over the United States here as part of the national Catholic Heart Workcamp program. Some of the high school age students came from as far as Texas to be part of a group sponsored locally by the Diocese of Toledo. These students did wonderful outdoor projects for us and worked with our volunteer master gardener, Mr. Bill Linderman, to clean up and beautify the grounds. Bill was a past principal of a local high school and has spent most of the last 40 years working with young adults. He helped us organize and motivate these youth to complete many projects that otherwise would not have been undertaken. Three of the days this past week were well over 90 degrees and the youngsters worked outside all but one day.
The Catholic Heart Workcamp is a national organization run by The Catholic Church across the United States. High school students join up for 4 weeks during the summer and give service to others. They come from all over our country and are assigned into small groups to complete their weeks of service in many parts of the country. Groups are sponsored through a Diocese or Parish and invited in to give service. In a brochure detailing their program it is written “Every now and then you have an experience, one that will remain with you forever. Bold and purposeful, fun and challenging, heartfelt and soul felt. It leaves you with a new state of mind that only comes from serving others. Wherever you are … this is Catholic Heart Workcamp.”
We thank these Catholic Heart youth that have given service to our Home and happily look forward to their return next summer. We pray that their experience in serving the elderly by working with the Little Sisters is something that will stay with them for a life time. The Catholic Heart Workcamp and Little Sisters of the Poor both share the same Mission of “Service, Connection and Loving Others.”
