Two adults and six girls from St. Martin Catholic Church in Cecil will be working and living their faith in July as part of the Catholic Heart Workcamp.
“Everybody who has gone just loves it,” said Karen Welcing, adult youth volunteer who will be assisted by Sharon Riehl, who will be chaperoning for the first time.
All of the girls have previously attended the camp.
This year, Welcing will pack up a minivan and will drive to Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. A Catholic high school will be their base of operations where they will sleep, eat and go to Mass every day from July 19-24.
“It’s fun and spiritual,” Welcing said.
They work at nonprofit places and homes for the elderly. Kids eighth grade and up can go. Welcing said some groups have 30 to 50 kids. There are around 300 kids at the camp.
“I would like to see our group get bigger,” she said. “We would like to expand and maybe team up with Sacred Heart in Shawano.
“It’s pretty interesting with that many kids together. It’s quite the experience.”
The groups can pick where they want to go. The St. Martin group has been to Indiana, Missouri, Michigan and the Twin Cities (twice).
The camps were founded in 1993 by Steve and Lisa Walker, who were youth ministers at St. Margaret Mary Church in Winter Park, Florida. Their mission is to share the love of Christ by serving the needs of others and to inspire the participants to foster their Catholic faith. This year the camps will be 13,000 strong in more than 50 cities. The camps begin in June and go through late August.
Former St. Martin Catholic Church deacon Tom Craig heard of camps in the Milwaukee area, and Welcing’s older daughter was interested.
“I got four friends who want to go,” Welcing said her daughter told her. “You’ll take us, Mom?”
Welcing said the camps are filling up earlier and faster as they become more popular and have a good reputation.
There is a $365 camp entry fee, plus additional costs for supplies and travel. The group has raised money from porky pancake breakfasts, soup dinner and basket raffle.
For information, call Welcing at 715-853-8728.
