Kentucky Senior Week Service Trip
Appalachian Service Project Description
Background Information for Spring 2012 Trip
Saturday, May 19th – Friday, May 25th
Contact Joe Mazzawi at jem479@cornell.edu for more info.
Cornell student volunteers serve a full week engaged in manual labor and social outreach projects on behalf of the rural poor in Jackson County, Kentucky, sponsored by the Cornell Catholic Community and St. Paul’s Catholic Church, McKee, Kentucky.
The trip is more than a volunteer work trip. It's an opportunity to live in a small Christian community for a week, in a region of the United States where Christian religious values are very strong. It is also an opportunity to learn about and experience aspects of the unique subculture of Appalachia and meet people you will remember for years to come.
Typical work during the week may include:
- Help for elderly shut-ins and other needy people with house cleaning, home repairs (especially roofing), yard work, farm work, flood relief, home building, painting, rebuilding after fires or floods, fence repair, cutting firewood, digging water lines.
- Maintenance and repair of parish buildings, automobiles, and grounds at St. Paul’s Church, a poor mission parish. In past years students have put on a new roof, cleaned up after periodic floods, repaired plumbing, constructed a new patio, repaired furniture, painted buildings, rebuilt stairs and furniture, cleaned buildings, washed windows, tended gardens, cut lawns, cut down overgrowth on creek banks, and dug drainage ditches.
- Social outreach such as visiting elderly and shut-ins, babysitting, emergency medical transportation, delivering meals-on-wheels, working with teenagers and youth groups.
It's not all work, however. Sunday May 20 will begin with an orientation session at St Paul's Church in McKee, followed by Mass and lunch with members of the parish. After lunch the group will head out for a 3-4 hour hike and caving trip. Friday afternoons are dedicated to a second hiking/caving experience or a leisurely afternoon in Berea checking out the high quality Appalachian crafts in the numerous shops or just hanging out at the Farmers market, followed by a barbecue host by John and Betty Moore.
Weather permitting an mid-week evening hike to the top of Pretty House is a possibility.
Living as a Community
One of the features of the Appalachian Service project is the development of community before and during the trip. This is accomplished through the orientation meetings as well as through experiences on the ground in Jackson County. The keys to success for the group are:
- Full participation in the group's morning and evening prayer services, including volunteering to organize and lead a prayer service;
- Full participation in all group events before and during the trip;
- A strong commitment to service to others, manifested in cheerfully accepting and completing any task assigned, whether out in the field, at St Paul's or at the dormitory;
- Utmost respect for others, whether they are your fellow team members, the hosts at your worksite, or a local resident that you may interact with;
- Tolerance - from the vans to the sleeping arrangements your level of privacy and comfort will be less than ideal;
- Flexibility - your expectation of what should happen may not mesh with what may happen and there will be surprises and setbacks in your day. Relax and trust the Lord;
- Being safe at all times, in the vehicles, on the hikes and on the job sites. Bad things can happen quickly, and emergency assistance is generally not close at hand.
Fundraising for the Trip
The cost of the trip is an estimated $380 per person. These costs include all transportation costs during the trip (van rentals, gas purchases), costs of several group meals on the trip, lodging expenses in Jackson County, and building materials purchased during the week.
Volunteers raise all the funds necessary to pay for travel and project expenses. Sources of donations include home parishes and solicitations from friends and relatives back home. Requesting a donation from your local parish, particularly if you couple it with an offer to speak at Mass prior to a special collection has proven to be a successful fundraising technique.
- Donations are tax deductible as charitable contributions. Please have donors make checks payable to Cornell Catholic Community. Please be sure to record names and addresses of all donors as we will send each and every one a thank you note.
- All donations received go into a common fund which pays travel and project expenses. Any surplus goes back to St. Paul to help support their year round ministry.