CV NEWS FEED // Almost 200 Catholic teenagers and adult leaders came to the Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware, to serve others through a faith-based ministry this month, according to a recent article by The Dialogue.
Catholic Heart Work Camp (CHWC) brings high school students together from across the United States for a week to complete service projects. The volunteers who attended the Wilmington location helped at a local Catholic Charities with painting. Some spent time at a retirement home. Others helped at a local Catholic parish.
According to the CHWC website, other service projects that volunteers might participate in include helping at homeless shelters, building homes with Habitat for Humanity, or helping with house cleaning or yard work.
CHWC’s 2024 theme is “Here & Now.” It highlights that young Catholics are not only the future of the Church, but also a part of the Church in the present.
“Young people are called to let their light shine before others so that others may benefit from their good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven,” the theme webpage states: “Teens do not have to wait to be active in their faith; CHWC invites them to be involved through acts of kindness and service to those who are in need HERE & NOW.”
At the Delaware location, several student volunteers shared with The Dialogue about ways CHWC has helped them grow in their faith and in their desire to serve others.
This year was recent high school graduate Taylor Donlan’s third year volunteering with CHWC. Donlan shared with The Dialogue that she initially felt unsure about volunteering during her first year with the Camp, but after several days felt confident about continuing.
“The work that we do is very helpful, inspiring,” Donlan told The Dialogue. “My first year, we helped an old woman fix up her house, and she was in tears by the end of it, and it just left an impact on me.”
First-year volunteer Julia Landgren, 16, shared with The Dialogue that she has enjoyed her time with CHWC and intends to come back next year.
“I think it’s really cool to experience places you haven’t gone, and you get to help people around the country,” Landgren said. “Honestly, doing the work every day is my favorite part of the day.”
While in Delaware, the CHWC “home base” was a local Catholic high school, where the students returned after the volunteer work was done for the day. The Dialogue reported that at the high school, the students can enjoy free time at the school’s athletic fields and gym and attend daily Mass and adoration. They also have opportunities to go to Confession.
Second-year volunteer Logan Greenbeck-Marsh, 14, shared with The Dialogue that CHWC helped deepen her faith.
“I feel a lot closer to God now,” Greenbeck-Marsh said. “Everything is lovely. I love to help people. Everybody I’ve met here is wonderful. It’s truly amazing.”
CHWC offered various locations throughout the U.S. for 2024, all of which were “full” at the time of this article’s publication, according to the ministry’s website. CHWC is offering a Rome and Assisi 2025 trip, which is also already full.
Registration for 2025 mission trips in the U.S. opens on Sept. 25.
