Tenafly teens help refugees during ‘powerful’ service trip
A group of 17 young parishioners from Tenafly’s Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church (OLMC) had the rare chance to learn about the ongoing migrant crisis firsthand by directly aiding hundreds of Haitian, African, and South American refugees during a weeklong service immersion trip to Portland, Maine, this summer.
The teen volunteers, who ranged from 14 to 18 years old, prepared and served meals to approximately 300 migrants and homeless people at St. Vincent de Paul Soup Kitchen each day of the trip. The teens also listened to the refugees’ stories while helping them book appointments with Catholic Charities Maine, which is assisting the migrants as they wait to enter Canada. The refugees they served had just arrived in Portland after getting bused there from other parts of the U.S.
“It was a very powerful experience for everyone,” said Elliot Guerra, OLMC’s director of mission development, who led the young parishioners on the trip along with three other adult chaperones. “It broke their hearts to see that level of poverty and desperation, but it also got them to question why are people living like this. My hope is that they take their new perspective into the privileged worlds they will enter — whether it’s business or finance or government or whatever — and think about how they can use their gifts to change things and help people.”
In addition to aiding the migrants, the teens benefited the local community by mulching the playground at Catholic Charities’ Child Development Center and volunteering at Partners for World Health, a Portland-based nonprofit that collects and distributes gently used medical supplies and equipment to those in need. They had fun, too, including frequent stops for ice cream and a trip to Peaks Island. They even received a surprise visit from OLMC’s pastor, Father Richard Supple, who drove five hours to hear the youths’ reflections on all they witnessed.
“Overall, this experience was a beautiful reminder of the impact we can make when we just set aside our differences and work together for a greater cause,” one of the teenagers, Isabella, wrote afterward. “I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to have served others and to have been a part of something greater than myself. These experiences will continue to shape my perspective and guide my actions as I strive to make a positive impact in the world.”
This was Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church’s first service immersion trip since 2015, but the parish has no shortage of volunteer opportunities. OLMC parishioners participate in annual family service days, support a shelter for single mothers, and prepare a monthly dinner for Bergen County residents in need. Teens also join annual mission trips offered through Catholic HEART Workcamp, and health care professionals lend their expertise to the world’s neediest through the parish’s Medical Mission Team. For more information on these initiatives, visit the church’s website at olmc.us.
Photos courtesy of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church
Featured image: A young parishioner from Tenafly’s Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church helps refugees in need schedule appointments with Catholic Charities Maine during a weeklong service immersion trip in Portland this summer. (Photo courtesy of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church)
