A volunteer group of six teens and two adult chaperones gather in the sweltering parking lot of Northstar’s campus on this mid-June morning. They don rags, cleaning supplies and water buckets as they detail buses and vans used to take students with disabilities into the community.

“We need someone tall to hose the top of the bus. I can’t reach up there,” the young man says as he gingerly sprays a taller teen with the hose. They both giggle.

“We need more rags, please,” a girl says to anyone who will listen.

Undeterred by Virginia’s heat and humidity, the teenage volunteers joyfully sing, laugh, and playfully coach each other as they work on the task at hand.

For three days, these teens work through a robust task list that includes painting a large storage unit, cleaning and moving furniture and landscaping. Each task addresses a need and directly impacts Northstar special education students, while helping the school reset and prepare for the upcoming school year.

“Our goal in addition to completing the tasks was to raise awareness about why individualized education is important for students with disabilities,” Director of Development Susan Herzick says, “The campers were enthusiastic about helping. They asked questions about the task, but also about the students.”

The teenage volunteer work group that visited the Glen Allen campus were among about 250 teenagers and adult chaperones who participated in Catholic Hearts Work Camp-Richmond. They hailed from Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio to strengthen their faith and help the local community, explains Program Manager Caryn Fresco, a special education teacher and tutor for over 30 years.

“We provide a safe opportunity for teens and adults from across the country to convene, love, serve, and connect not only with their faith but with organizations or deserving individuals in our metro-Richmond community,” Fresco says. The teen and adult campers eat, sleep and attend morning and evening faith-based programs at Benedictine Schools of Richmond.

The local camp is an outgrowth of the mission trips hosted by Catholic HEART Workcamp, which was founded in 1993 by Steve and Lisa Walker in Orlando, Florida. A group of teenage boys on return from a mission trip, notes Fresco, initially pitched the program to “share their faith and community service commitment” in Central Virginia.

Northstar welcomes volunteers and offers one-day and event volunteer opportunities.