St John Of The Cross

General Description of Work Sites
Young Neighbors service sites give participants the chance to meet people in need and do something practical about the difficult situations they encounter. Work sites benefit church and service agencies by providing a capable and enthusiastic work force to help with pressing needs. Working on-site benefits team members as well-by providing them with an outlet for their energy and talent, and expanding their understanding and experience of what it means to live in need. Balancing agency and team needs can be a tricky task-but it's a task that is made easier when team members realize that they're here to serve and that they will find God's presence in a special way through their service to people in need.

The opportunities and needs encountered on-site from one place to the next-but the service sites selected tend to fall into three categories:

Clean-up, paint-up, fix-up, construction, and repair
Examples: yard work for ill and needy individuals or families; landscaping, planting, weeding at shelters or in community gardens; neighbor clean-up or graffiti-removal, minor home repairs; scraping and painting; major renovation or construction projects with Habitat for Humanity and similar groups.
Regular involvement in children's and family programming
Examples: helping with summer tutorial and recreation programs; assisting with day camp or daycare programs for infants, toddlers, young children and pre-teens; helping out at children's and/or family centers; serving as aides for migrant Headstart programs; working with developmentally disabled children, youth, or young adults; organizing arts and crafts, and Bible School programs; working at orphanages and children's homes.
Providing direct assistance to those in need
Examples: cooking and serving meals in soup kitchens and shelters; working with food banks and clothing shops, Catholic Charities, and St. Vincent DePaul; helping out in the homeless shelters or family abuse centers, Catholic Worker Houses, and AIDS hospices.

The program also includes time for recreation and mixing with other participants, education sessions geared at helping participants understand why the needs they are responding to exist, and opportunities to learn about local culture and ethnic groups. Our team will be prepared to work, learn, and play hard throughout the week.