Catholic

Heart Workcamp has a long track record of

success-the principal reason Holy Trinity Youth

Minister Andy Constantine said he chose the program as

the first summer outreach for the church's Life Teen

group. Program administrators selected those residents

who would receive assistance, arranged shelter for the

300 participating teens from parishes all over the

country, and provided extra supplies, food, and evening

activities for the group-activities which included

concerts, guest speakers, daily Mass, games and social

time.

Still, the

teens said they gained as much from the experience as

they gave, making friends not only with the residents

they helped, but also with young people from across the

United States. Remillard worked with a group of 7- to

9-year-olds at a day care center for low income children.

"They wouldn't stop hugging us," she recalled.

"They were just so hungry for any type of

affection."

Jeff

Schortmann, a rising sophomore at Starr's Mill High

School, worked with a group of five teens and two adults

doing yard work, painting, and making light repairs at a

shelter for abused women and children in a rural

community on the outskirts of Orlando. "The

residents there couldn't believe we had come to Orlando

to help them," he said. "The joy in their faces

was awesome.'

Kenny Jubb,

also a Starr's Mill sophomore, along with other teens

from North Carolina, California and Taiwan, helped paint

and repair the home of a woman in her 80s. Each day, Jubb

said, she came outside in the scorching heat to visit

with the group. On the last day of the workcamp the older

woman appeared during their lunch time, stood in front of

the group, and expressed her thanks for their hard work.

"The

experience changed my life," Jubb said.

"Initially I didn't want to go on this trip, but by

the end of the week, I felt good about myself."

Jessica

Lovelace, another rising sophomore at Starr's Mill,

agrees. "At first, she said, "I thought we

would be building a house. When I learned we would just

be cleaning and repairing homes, I wasn't as enthused

about the trip. But once I was there, I was glad I

went." Lovelace told about how the residents would

sit on the front porch and talk with members of the group

while they worked. "And children from the

neighborhood would come and play in the yards and help

us," she said. "Even the bus rides back and

forth to the school were fun because we had a chance to

compare notes with the other teens."

All who

participated said they came away with a desire to return

next summer. "There is just such a need for this

type of work," Lovelace said.

Constantine

said he hoped members of Holy Trinity's Life Teen group

will make an annual pilgrimage to the Catholic Heart

Workcamp, which grows in strength and numbers each year.

He has already advised teens to mark their calendars for

June 10-16, 2001.

"Not

only did our teens work and help others," he said,

"but they also met other youth and had a great time.

I think the experience taught them that service isn't

necessarily a duty they have to endure, but an

opportunity for fun and adventure."

<!--##############