Service Opportunities

Youth Service Trip
Each summer, our youth ministry program travels with Catholic Heart Work Camp to serve underprivelaged communities throughout the country. This year, we will be volunteering with local nonprofits in Richmond, VA to improve the lives of those living in poverty. For more information about our trip, visit the youth mission trip page of our website!

If you find that you find that you don't have a lot of time to do service during the academic year, our youth service trip might be for you! Youth who are in need to service hours for Confirmation who sign up for our trip by January 1st will not need to complete service hours during the year. Participating in mission trip is also 'worth' 2 social events, which are required for Confirmation prep.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mass and Meal (Youth Ministry Family Mass) Music Singers and Musicians
Assist with music for our youth ministry Mass and Meal on February 27th! Youth who play an insturment or are willing to actively sing in the choir can receive 6 service hours for attending all practices and participating in the liturgy. If you are a musician who needs sheet music, please reach out to Kristin at least 1 week in advance of the first practice! No musican experience is necessary for our choir members - just a willingness to participate!

Rehearsals:
February 6th : 4:30-6 PM
February 20th : 4:30-6 PM
February 27th : 5-6 PM (Mass begins at 6 PM)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Reader - Stations of the Cross - January 23rd
We are searching for a few youth readers to assist with our youth ministry Stations of the Cross serviceo n January 23rd. Youth will need to arrive early (around 5 PM) to rehears. The service will take place during regular youth ministry hours (6-7:30 PM)! Youth who volunteer as readers can receive 2 hours of service for their participation. 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

San Isidro Labrador Community Garden at St. Thomas More
Saturday mornings from 9 AM - 12 PM and some weekdays

Youth are invited to help tend our STM community garden with our San Isidro ministry! No gardening experience is necessary, but you must reach out to Bob Weickert at bob_weickert@mindspring.com to determind when you'd like to volunteer. 
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Usher Ministry
If you'd like to serve as an Usher after any weekend Mass, reach out to Pat Gaglione pjgaglione@gmail.com. While youth can decide what days they'd like to volunteer, this is an ongoing volunteer commitment and not just a one-time thing!
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Assisting Elderly Parishoners
Occassionally, our parish office staff will get calls from elderly or disabled parishoners, requesting help with things like grocery shopping, household chores, or other tasks. If you would like to assist a parishoner in need, please see below or reach out to Kristin to see if anyone may be in need of help. Please note: this activity must be done with a parent or guardian. Youth are not permitted to meet with adult parishoners alone, regardless of the agreement made directly with the parishoner. 

• An elderly parishoner who lives in a condor off of Franklin street is looking for help cleaning insider her apartment and doing some light rearranging. Please reach out to Susan Chiurco at susanchiurco@aol.com for information about volunteering!

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PORCH "Double Baggers"
The PORCH organizers need help every third Sunday of the month, from 8pm-9pm (after youth ministry), to help double-bag and to help set up for the Monday morning food sort. Those in need of service hours are more than welcome to help out. For those youth interested in participating in service hours with Porch, all activities are currently being held at Extraordinary Ventures on Elliott Rd, due to Covid. A sign up genius is used to fill the needed slots. To receive the emails that send the link for the sign up, please contact Carol Lucas at cjlucas3@aol.com
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Caring and Sharing Center 
Youth are welcome to assist guests find clothes during regular hours and/or assist on scheduled sorting days after hours. Youth younger than 17 years old must come with an adult. Regularly designated sorters work on early Tuesday and Friday a.m. so if youth have time off in the morning they can assist on those days as well. Please contact Marie Clark at mariepaulaclark@yahoo.com for more information.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Homestart
Homestart is the women and children's shelter on Homestead Road. Our parish, along with other churches, provides dinners for the women each week. We are always in need of additional help. Youth can help by: thinking up a menu, shopping for ingredients, paying for the ingredients, making the dinner (at their house or the shelter), and deliver the dinner to the shelter. They would receive hours for all of the work, and it normally totals at least 5 -6 hours per dinner. Youth are encouraged to work in pairs or groups for this project. Please contact Cindy Hynes at Cindy_Hynes@dentistry.unc.edu for more information. She will help work with the youth's schedule as well.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Youth House Maintenance
Grab a few of your friends and help us keep our Youth House clean and usable! For those who are interested in getting a few more Confirmation Service Hours, this will be the perfect job! Put on your iPod and clean, clean, clean. Please note: You must have two SET (Safe Environment Trained) adults to accompany you for this project or the parents of each youth present. Contact Kristin Hauser, Director of Youth Ministry, to volunteer! 
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Watering Indoor Plants
Youth are needed to help water plants in the church, narthex, and parish center for 15-20 minutes per week, one day a week, flexible time. Contact Mary Doerflein at mrdoerflein@gmail.com for more information.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Children’s Liturgy of the Word (CLOW)
This is an ongoing commitment for “shepherds” to assist with the teachers during the 5:15 and the 9:15 Masses. The new schedule does not come out until January, but youth can sign up to be included now. Please have the youth think about how many months they wish to be on the schedule since we do a calendar for the whole year. Contact Maureen Earnhardt for more information.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Youth Ministry Spotify Playlist
Help serve our community by creating a Spotify playlist for use at youth ministry events! The playlist must have at least 2.5 hours of music on it and all songs must be youth-ministry appropraite (no cuss words, sexual themes, or drug references). Reach out to Kristin if you'd like to take on this project!
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________


_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
FOR WIRED MEMBERS ONLY:
RCIA-C
We need youth as sponsors for kids in the RCIA. There are several important aspects of this ministry. (1) It will be a two year commitment (until Easter 2019 with the present group), (2) Hispanic youth are encouraged to become sponsors, as many of our catechumens are Hispanic, (3) the youth need to be Confirmed. Please contact Maureen Earnhardt for more information.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lectoring
The lector ministry would love to have some more young lectors. Youth are welcome to come to a new lector training. Usually youth can lector for at least a year before they head off to college. Please contact Jim Boyd at STMLectors@gmail.com for information.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Eucharistic Minister Training
Confirmed teens interested in becoming Eucharistic Minsters are invited to training sessions scheduled a few times a year.  Please contact Deacon Bob Troy for more information on dates and times.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________