Roughly 30 people from the Holy Cross community drove to Camden, New Jersey, over Martin Luther King weekend for a service trip. They went to a total of seven different sites with a wide variety, from senior centers and nursing homes, to soup kitchens.
The trip was organized by Maika Walker, the Social Justice Director.
“Two mornings of service, [with] 20 hours engaged with the community,” Walker described.
The trip was focused on service to others, especially direct contact to different groups within the area.
“It put me in direct contact and service of some of the people in need of Camden,” theology teacher Douglas Lawerence stated.
The direct contact with the people in need really encouraged Holy Cross students and teachers to grow in their journey of service.
“Even though you have seen some of these situations before, you’ve never encountered that particular person before,” Lawrence pointed out.
Going to all these sites and interacting with the people in the sites really made the experience beneficial.
“It reminds you that there is real need out there,” Lawrence stated.
Sophomore Caroline Serra attended the service trip. The trip opened her eyes to what she was not used to seeing in her home community.
“Definitely gave me a new perspective, because here is our normal, but there is their normal,” Serra explained. “It feels good to get a new perspective of what an everyday life of someone else is.”
Not only did the trip give Serra a new perspective but parts of it really impacted her.
“What really surprised me was how joyful everyone there was because you go onto this trip thinking that it’s going to be all dark and gloomy and no one is going to be happy,” Serra said. “But in reality the people there are just like you and me, and they’re just living their lives.”
LOTAs discovered that the most memorable part of the trip to most was just talking and getting to know the people of Camden. Serra went to the Abigail House which is a nursing home.
“Getting to know the people there and learning about their lives was something I’ll never forget,” Serra stated.
Lawrence had a similar experience at the St. Francis soup kitchen. There he met two men, John and Bruce.
“Just kinda listening to them you could tell both of them were probably struggling with mental health, but just trying to be attentive and present to them, and hear their story,” Lawrence added.
The participants found that the trip offered many memories that will last a lifetime.It also gave them many ways to grow.
“It is not just an opportunity for me to serve, but also an opportunity for me to mentor, and hopefully encourage others in their service that will last a lifetime,” Lawrence described.
