Fundraising Breakfast Helped Workcampers Get Closer To Port Jervis

By Shannon Hicks

When more than 40 young adults from Newtown head off to Port Jervis, N.Y., in July, they will bring with them the hopes of youth, the strength of teams, and the promise to help for those who are less fortunate than they.

The young adults are members of Newtown Congregational Church and St Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church, and they are in the midst of planning and raising funds for workcamp, which will take them to the southern New York city that has a rich history and heritage in transportation and industry yet has struggled recently due to outsourcing, global competition, and new technology.

In addition to the NCC and St Rose members who will be traveling to Port Jervis in June, a few members of Newtown United Methodist Church and Sacred Heart will be traveling there as well.

“There are kids who just by friendship, through word of mouth, have joined on,” said Mariann Adams, a member of NCC and the main contact for the NCC and St Rose members planning to participate in workcamp this year.

The young adults and their chaperones are working with Group Workcamp, the same company that has arranged for groups from Newtown to travel to locations across the country in years past. Last weekend the campers hosted a workcamp breakfast, an event that brought attention to their plans for June and raised money to help cover their transportation fees.

More than 200 people attended the March 3 event, which was held at Stony Hill Inn. Ms Adams said this week the event needed to be moved to a new location this year due to the closing of the Fireside Inn in Newtown.

“It’s a big year of transition for all of us,” said Ms Adams, who has stepped into the shoes of Beth Palmer. Mrs Palmer had been the prime contact for NCC-St Rose workcamp for a number of year, but decided to step away from the mission project after the 2006 session had been completed.

On Saturday morning, the majority of workcampers were on hand to help the event run smoothly. Ross Blessey, the coordinator of the St Rose senior youth group, offered the opening prayer.

While waitstaff of Stony Hill Inn served the plates of hot food to attendees on Saturday morning, workcampers were kept busy filling coffee and tea cups, pouring orange juice and ice water, and fetching errant utensils, additional butter, or even sugar or sweetener when requested. They cleared the plates when diners were finished eating, and continued to keep mugs and glasses filled with the appropriate beverage. The event continued with testimonials from previous workcampers, and then entertainment was provided in the form of a friendly competition between tables that loosely followed the format of game show Deal or No Deal.

At the end of the event, envelopes were left on the tables with “tips” for each workcamper.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Ms Adams said, nearly $6,500 had been counted from Saturday’s event. That amount was coming in from the tips that had been left, additional donations, and money that had been used to purchase raffle tickets on Saturday morning. Twenty-nine prizes were raffled off at the end of the meal, representing donations from local merchants, businesses, and individuals.

The money raised between now and June will be used to cover everything that tuition does not. Tuition for each camper is $425, which covers meals and lodging, construction materials or project supplies, as well as a camp T-shirt, faith-building programs, and daily devotions.

Transportation is not covered by tuition, and that is where a large amount of fundraising is needed. Newtown’s group this year needs to raise approximately $25,000 to cover all of the anticipated expenses. Campers raised some money in January by holding a rockathon (using rocking chairs and rocking all night), and Ms Adams said this week that campers will be holding car washes in the spring.

During camp week the workcampers will be staying in a local school. They will sleep in classrooms and eat in the cafeteria. Showers will be available, but not all are going to be indoors and private (locker room style). Some will be outdoor and semiprivate, so campers are already being told to prepare for that (by packing bathing suits in order to be prepared for either showering situation).

“I think this will be a real eye-opener for a lot of kids,” said Ms Adams. “Workcamp is always important, and this year is shaping up to be as good as ever.”

Ironically, while GWC hosts campers from across the country at any of its mission events, the young adults and chaperones from NCC and St Rose will probably see some familiar faces when they arrive in New York in a few months. It turns out the youth group of Trinity Episcopal Church is also planning to do its workcamp session this summer during the week of June 24–30, in the same city.

Anyone interested in sponsoring workcampers is invited to contact Ms Adams at 426-1362 or the office of Newtown Congregational Church at 426-9024.