Union Co. Teens Dedicate Summer To Volunteering At Newark Camp

UNION COUNTY, NJ — A group of 45 teenagers throughout North Jersey and Pennsylvania gave up their summer vacations to completing community service projects through the Archdiocese of Newark.

Westfield and Cranford teenagers were among those who participated in the service projects for a camp offered by the Archdiocese of Newark’s Office for Youth & Young Adult Ministry during the last week of July.

The high school-aged teens volunteered at different archdiocesan sites that required assistance, such as St. Rose of Lima Church in Newark, St. Leo’s School in Elmwood Park, St. Michael Convent in Newark and Sacred Heart Church in Bloomfield.

At many of those locations, the teenagers swept floors, painted walls, landscaped yards, removed garbage, and performed other much-needed upkeep, according to the Archdiocese of Newark.

They also packed meals, inventoried food and sorted clothes for people in need at St. Ann’s Soup Kitchen in Newark and the Father English Consumer Choice Food Pantry in Paterson. Some even got the chance to create birdhouses for Gate of Heaven Cemetery in East Hanover, which will display them as a way of comforting mourners.

After each day of work, the teens returned to the St. John Paul II Youth Retreat Center in Kearny to discuss their experiences.

“We’re living in a world where it’s all about ‘me,’ but the Summer Service Week is the complete opposite of that,” said Rich Donovan, the Youth Office’s Associate Director for Events and Training, who pointed out that the experience was particularly eye-opening for this year’s participants because none had ever joined the camp before.

“By helping others, these teens went on a journey that’s made them view the world and themselves differently," Donovan said. "They appreciate things more. Instead of going in the fridge and complaining that there’s nothing to eat, they’ll think about the people they made food for who really don’t have anything. And hopefully that will inspire them to look into how they can serve their own communities.”

The Archdiocese of Newark, under the leadership of Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., the sixth archbishop of Newark, serves approximately 1.3 million Catholics in 212 parishes and 73 schools throughout the counties of Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Union

For more information about the Office for Youth & Young Adult Ministry, visit https://www.newarkoym.com/.

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