PATERSON It has become a summer tradition at the agencies of diocesan Catholic Charities for throngs of young people to inhabit its offices and group homes giving time and talent to make a difference to those in need. These young people, ranging in from middle school students to college students, volunteered with Catholic Heart Workcamp (CHWC) and were in the Paterson Diocese during the week of July 24-30.
The volunteers came from states all around the country and traveled by bus, taking a week of their summer vacation to help at the group homes of Department for Persons with Disabilities, daycare centers of the Father English Center and the offices of Catholic Family and Community Services and Straight and Narrow here. These volunteers stayed at Queen of Peace High School in North Arlington, along with more than 200 other volunteers, who served in the Paterson Diocese and the Newark Archdiocese.
At DPD, seven students and two adult chaperones washed windows, gardened, took care of outdoor maintenance, organized sheds, cleaned cabinets and closets and much more. With care to the residents at the group homes, the young people were kind and respectful. They visited four group homes of DPD — two homes in Pompton Lakes and two homes in Oak Ridge.
Pat Barrett, coordinator of pastoral care at DPD, said, “This was a great learning experience for these young volunteers. They did much needed work at our group homes. They got exposure about our work at DPD and got to met our residents with disabilities — people they would not regularly meet and to interact with them.”
At the social service agencies of Catholic Family and Community Services here, more than 60 young people worked at its many agencies — some volunteered at its daycare centers for preschoolers, the multilingual center which serves disabled young adults and their families, and the Father English food pantry and its community garden across the street from the center.
Sister of Charity Maureen Sullivan, director of ministry services and volunteers at CFCS, said, “What a wonderful witness of Christian love in action. When groups like CHWC help us, the generosity extends far beyond CFCS and our clients. I shared with the young people some of the tasks that may seem menial. However, making our agency welcoming for clients shows the clients that we value them and want to make things better for them.”
For one group of volunteers working at the food pantry garden, the staff at CFCS was concerned because of the heat but the volunteers hailing from Iowa didn’t find the conditions difficult at all. Sister Maureen said, “They were real farmers and they did a great job cleaning up the weeds, helping to reinforce some of the plants and harvesting the vegetables and herbs.”
The presence of these young people lifted the spirits up of the staff and clients at CFCS. Sister Maureen said, “We had a disabled client who usually keeps to herself but during a visit to Van Saun Park in Paramus with the volunteers, she communicated with some of the young people in her own special way. It was very touching.”
The mission of Catholic Heart Workcamp is “to share the love of Christ as we serve the neglected, brokenhearted and the marginalized in any way needed. Equally, to inspire participants to live as disciples of Christ through serving others as a way of life; and to foster the Catholic Faith of each participant through the sacraments, prayer and involvement in social service” according to its website.
Also just as the Paterson Diocese welcomes many volunteers from out of state, young people from the Paterson Diocese have traveled to different states volunteering with CHWC. In the beginning of July, the Beacon reported about a group of young people from St. Michael Parish in Netcong and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Flanders, who volunteered in Hartford, Conn.
On DPD’s Facebook page, the agency wrote, “Special thanks to this group of young adults. The work camp provides parish youth groups, teens and adult leaders service opportunities to restore homes, feed the hungry, lift the spirits of children, bring joy to the elderly and disabled, and offer assistance while partnering with social service agencies.”