Teens are pitching in to help among neediest people in Troy

The program, Service Action Learning Teams (SALT), is designed for teens, 15-18. A dozen volunteers are signed up for the first session, July 14-21.

The goal is to expose teens to people who suffer from hardships like poverty and hunger, then give them the chance to fix those problems through hands-on service projects, said Mary Harrison, associate director of youth ministry for the OEC.

"Young people can have an opportunity to not only do community service, but also reflect on Church social teachings," she said.

Troy project

The teens, who will work in cooperation with Troy's Unity House, will do a major service project together in the morning and smaller ones in the afternoon. The major project is building a house for a low-income family.

"It's a prototype designed by a professor at R.P.I. It can be built totally without contractors," Mr. Tamer said.

More to do

A few of the teens will also accompany caseworkers from the Hispanic Outreach Program and Catholic Charities.

"They'll be able to go to people's homes and help fill out paperwork for things like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security," Mr. Tamer said.

Nighttime

On several evenings, the volunteers will hear guest speakers after dinner. The topics range from community building to poverty in Third World countries.

Before bed each night, the teens will have two hours of social time, when they can plan their own prayer services, write in retreat journals and relax.

"They'll be seeing things they might be uncomfortable with during the day, so in the evenings they'll get a chance to unwind," said Ms. Keogh.

Goals

"You've got the theoretical and then actually doing it. They'll learn what it means to do justice through the Catholic Church," Mr. Tamer said.

(A second service week will be offered August 11-18. For information, call the OEC at 453-6630 or write the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis, 40 N. Main Ave., Albany NY 12203.)

(07-11-02) [[In-content Ad]]