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WorkCampers serve closer to home this year

Zoey Maraist | Catholic Herald Staff Writer

Luke Brayman kicks down a post during the demolition of a deck June 22 in Alexandria. ZOEY MARAIST | CATHOLIC HERALD

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WorkCamper Mary Calogero, 16, cuts peppers at St. Louis School in Alexandria June 22. ZOEY MARAIST | CATHOLIC HERALD

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Emille Rose Taduran observes the site while wearing a WorkCamp-branded face mask. ZOEY MARAIST | CATHOLIC HERALD

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A teen WorkCamper prepares to dig on a work site in Alexandria June 22. ZOEY MARAIST | CATHOLIC HERALD

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Vaughn Ververs, 16, sports a WorkCamp lanyard while cutting potatoes at St. Louis School in Alexandria June 22. ZOEY MARAIST | CATHOLIC HERALD

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WorkCampers prepare pork for meals to be distributed during the weekly Wednesday food distribution at Our Lady, Queen of Peace Church in Arlington. ZOEY MARAIST | CATHOLIC HERALD

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Teens carry a plank of wood from a demolished deck on a work site in Alexandria June 22. ZOEY MARAIST | CATHOLIC HERALD

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A sunny yellow Converse sneaker now
dominates the circular WorkCamp logo where a sturdy work boot once stood. The
boot has been booted, but WorkCamp is still here, looking a little different
than in years past. 

Thirty-eight parishes and 700 teens are participating in this year’s WorkCamp Re-Boot June 21- 25. But to better adhere to
coronavirus prevention guidelines, instead of congregating at one high school
and fixing up nearby homes, crews instead are tackling a variety of projects on
parish grounds or nearby. 

“Projects range from building decks,
painting, constructing paths for rosary walks, refreshing outdoor Stations of
the Cross paths, bicycle repair, food preparation for those in need, food
pantry organization, car washes (and) yard work for residents in parish
communities,” said Ed Gloninger, diocesan WorkCamp coordinator. 

As in years past, the WorkCamp day begins with Mass and ends with an evening program — a video recap of the day,
spiritual talks, music and time for prayer. This year, it was
livestreamed.  

Teens from Sacred Heart of Jesus Church
in Winchester are repairing a few of the homes that would have been fixed by
WorkCampers before the pandemic moved the camp from Winchester to home parishes.

Gabriel Mosias-Brown digs a hole for a post on a work
site in Alexandria June 22. ZOEY MARAIST  |  CATHOLIC HERALD

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Campers from St. Luke Church in McLean
and St. Mark Church in Vienna are turning an old milk house on Turner Farm, a county
park in Great Falls, into a chapel. St. Mark parishioner and longtime WorkCamp
volunteer Sarah Kirk and her husband, Glenn Zoski, are curators for a five-acre
parcel of the property and plan to turn it into a retreat center. 

“It’s amazing,” she said. “In just one
day, they’ve painted the roof, put in three windows, (laid 30 feet of ) a stone
dust trail, built an Adirondack chair, (and) fixed a fence that we’re going to
put a gate in.”

Crews from St. Louis Church in
Alexandria are splitting time between projects. Half the group spent Monday morning in
the school kitchen seasoning pork and chopping vegetables. After two days of
cooking, they plan to drive a refrigerated truck bearing 1,200 meals of
pulled pork, mashed potatoes and grilled peppers, broccoli and squash to the weekly Wednesday food distribution at Our Lady, Queen of
Peace Church in Arlington. Later in the week, they plan to make meals
for Silverado Alexandria Memory Care Community employees and others. 

The rest of the St. Louis teens spent
the morning demolishing a deck. Two weeks earlier, parishioner Larry Ferguson’s
wife noticed the wood of their next-door neighbor’s deck was rotting and
wondered if the WorkCampers could replace it. So, Ferguson gave parish WorkCamp
coordinator Tom Canning a call. “And to my surprise he said yes,” said
Ferguson. 

Their neighbor, Misrak Woldemichael, was
thrilled. “I was so happy, I want God to come bless (the WorkCampers) and their
families,” said Woldemichael, an Orthodox Christian. “I don’t have any words to
say, just thank you so much.”

Though it wasn’t the WorkCamp experience
she was used to, 18-year-old Grace White was grateful to be there. “It was
weird at first coming and not being with the whole diocese as usual, but I
think it’s very special to connect to just your parish,” she said. “I think
it’s just so beautiful that even in a time like this we’re still coming
together and helping others.”

“Everything about WorkCamp, I just
absolutely love it,” said 16-year-old Jimmy Madden. “One of my favorite parts
of WorkCamp was meeting new people and helping others,” he said, as a friend
walked up to him and asked for advice on how to wield a power tool. “I don’t
get to meet new people here, but I still get to help others and there’s just
such a great satisfaction that you get knowing the work you’re doing is for a
good cause.”

“Walking in on the first day, I was
like, yeah, this is where I want to be for the next few days,” said Kelly
Ntambwe, 17. “Especially since we’ve been at home all day just with our
families, it’s good to see other people and be doing work together. I think
helping people who are our neighbors is really special. It shows you don’t
really have to go far.”

Though WorkCamp is even more local this
year, Ntambwe feels she’s part of something bigger than herself and her parish,
gesturing to the lanyard around her neck sporting the WorkCamp 2020 logo. “A
huge thank you for people working behind the scenes who printed out the little
tags and all the little things to make it feel like we’re actually all one big
group at WorkCamp, even though we’re far apart.”

 

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