Dewitt, NY – Christian Brothers Academy students recently participated in a Summer Servants Mission Trip.
Rising seniors Emily Bilynsky, Nini LeVu, Sarah MacLachlan, and McKenna Purcell, and rising junior, Shruti Zirath, participated in the mission trip, organized by religion teacher Amanda Webster and science teacher Robert Michael Calimlim. Four other students joined their fellow Brothers on the trip, however, they went through their parishes. They included: rising senior Alyssa Nicta, rising sophomores Corinne Kleiner and Michael Berger, and rising freshman Liam Rose.
Summer Servants is an overnight mission trip for teens located in Syracuse, NY.
Through the Summer Servants mission trip, CBA students not only served those in their community, but found kinship with those they served.
“What we try to do at Summer Servants is to get people to reflect on the inside and serve on the outside. And hopefully the two all come together by the end of the week,” said event organizer Andrea Jacobs ’01. “Students will recognize who they are and that they are loved by God, they are served by God and given the gifts by God and they can go out to love and serve others through those gifts,” she added.
The CBA students started the week in prayer at All Saints Roman Catholic Church with a beautiful blessing from Fr. Fred Daley. Throughout the week, the group volunteered at Hopeprint, helping resettled refugee children with their summer projects and A Tiny Home for Good, as they painted the yard fence with the residents. The group not only served their fellow neighbors, but also listened to stories of a woman who was originally an illegal immigrant, another woman who is a refugee and experienced and toured a mosque.
Pictured front row (l-r): Joey Matheson, Quinn Horan, Caroline DeMarche, Elana Finn, Karrina Pullano, Sophia Burns, Emma Costello, Bella Timmons, Maddie Winchell. Back row (l-r): Anisa Williams, Sophia Sportelli, Gabby Schortemeier, MP Geiss, Anna Ziemba, Colin Conroy, Vin Horan, Kathy Wiese, Pat Wiese, Joe Marsallo, Matt Klemenz.
Two groups of Christian Brothers Academy students traveled to the picturesque shores of Sebago Lake, ME this summer, not for rest and relaxation, but to volunteer at Camp Sunshine. Camp Sunshine provides respite and support to children battling life-threatening illnesses and their families and allows them to spend a carefree week enjoying many fun-filled activities in the great outdoors.
Coordinated annually by faculty member Vin Horan, the first group traveled to the camp for a week in July, while the second group was there in August.
Pictured (l-r): Vin Horan, Abby Benware, Danny Melvin, Mary Kilmartin, Paige Alletzhauser, Ethan Hunt, and Matt Potenza
Open for more than 25 years, Camp Sunshine operates year-round and serves approximately 40 families per week. It depends on the generosity of its volunteers to give its campers a safe, carefree and memorable week free-of-charge.