Glenmary
Home Missioners
P.O. Box 465618
Cincinnati, OH 45246
513-874-8900
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Christmas Spirit Never Leaves Glenmary Farm
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Volunteers Experience a 'Great, Life-Changing Opportunity’
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| Justin Furtado (left) and classmates from Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick, R.I., get ready to unload food-drive boxes at a Lewis County, Ky., pantry. Justin organized the drive in his school and community to prepare for the trip to the Glenmary Farm. |
For Christians, December marks the annual celebration of Christ’s birth as well as the traditional season of giving. But at the Glenmary Farm, the Christmas spirit truly pervades every week of the year.
For nearly 40 years, the Glenmary Farm and Glenmary Home Missioners have been an integral part of life in Lewis County, Ky., a county where more than 29 percent of the population live below the national poverty line and less than one percent are Catholic.
Since 1971 volunteers have been coming to the Farm—the site of Glenmary’s Group Volunteer Program—from high schools and colleges all over the United States. In a typical year, more than 500 students from over 40 Catholic schools and parish youth groups experience a week of missionary service, prayerful reflection, immersion into Appalachian culture and an environment of simple living. Invariably, the volunteers feel they receive even more than they give.
Teenager Spearheads Food Drive for Lewis County
Justin Furtado, 16, a junior at Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick, R.I., was thrilled to be one of 15 students chosen recently to make the sixth annual trip from his school to the Farm on Nov. 8-14. According to Tom Gambardella, the school’s director of campus ministry, the trip is extremely popular. “I heard from kids who went before that it’s a great, life-changing opportunity,” Justin says. “They were right.”
But Justin did far more than the average student to prepare for his visit: he organized his own food drive for Lewis County. “It seemed like a really good thing to do instead of just bringing ourselves,” he says.
Justin publicized the drive and placed collection boxes in his school and community. A week later he and fellow scouts gathered food donations and sorted, counted and boxed them. The final tally: 572 items, from canned goods and pasta to peanut butter and cereal…a total of 605 pounds of food. He also solicited $200 from business owners to help defray shipping costs, paying the other $275 out of pocket with the intention of more fundraising later.
“I was amazed by the whole experience,” Justin says. During their week in Lewis County, Justin and his classmates even had the chance to deliver the 20 food boxes to the food pantry. “The pantry director told me how much the food meant to the people and it made me feel great,” Justin says. “The simple life there was so much more than we realized. I think we’ll look at our lives differently now and change for the better.”
As Tom Gambardella says, “We try to instill a belief in serving others, and Justin’s effort was really remarkable.This trip opens up all the students’ eyes to a larger reality. I have the utmost admiration for the Glenmary staff. The students are blown away by the volunteer staff’s dedication in working at the Farm.”
Volunteers Help Family Save Business After Flood
For P.J. and Pam Eulett, Lewis County is where they grew up, married, attend Mosby Community Church and are raising their 12-year-old son. They both work third-shift jobs in nearby Maysville.
Three years ago they started a trophy shop business in their garage to bring in needed extra money. But this past June, flash flooding of nearby creeks threatened that business, filling the shop with almost three feet of water and mud.
“Some things were just ruined,” says Pam, “like paper files, award ribbons, and plaques. And the rest was a big mess that needed a lot of work to clean up.”
Because time was critical in saving the rest of their inventory from damage, the couple’s relatives suggested they contact the Glenmary Farm.
“Family members know the Glenmary people through church connections, and they have a great reputation for helping people in need,” she says. So Pam made the call. “The man at Glenmary said they’d be glad to help us. And very soon after that, five to seven volunteers came each day for three days.”
The volunteers carefully washed, dried and reboxed a large quantity of trophy parts—including bases, “toppers” (trophy-top figures) and trim pieces. They also helped clean up the garage. In all, it took roughly 100 person-hours to do the work. Most important, the timely assistance saved the cost of more losses and it allowed the Euletts to get their business going again quickly.
Pam has nothing but high praise for the young volunteers—students from California, Florida and Illinois. “They were wonderful,” she says, “very friendly and enthusiastic but also polite and respectful.
“It was great to get to know them and we really enjoyed having them here. I fixed lunches because it was the least I could do. I thanked them for all their hard work. We are so grateful because they made a big difference for us.”
This December, the Christmas spirit is more alive than ever in all those touched by the spirit of giving at the Glenmary Farm.
This article originally appeared in the December 2008 Boost-A-Month Club Newsletter |
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