Group Workcamps Foundation is a dynamic non-profit organization connecting youth with service opportunities in three effective ways: organized Workcamps focusing on home repair for the needy; “Week of Hope” events partnering students with community organizations to offer services, such as tutoring or Vacation Bible School help; and through exciting international Service Expeditions.
The mission of the workcamps is to help people grow closer to God by serving others in need. What organizers have found is that when people go to serve others in need, they grow spiritually in the process. During Group’s three decades of service, organizers have seen that happen repeatedly.
Heather, a youth participant, said she never before felt this strong in her faith; and Dorothea, a youth worker, said not only did it bring her kids into a new understanding of God, but “it deeply moved me and gave me the chance to make lasting commitments before God.”
Workcamps, which take place in more than 50 communities across the United States, afford students the opportunity to minister in a practical way to citizens of specific areas. These are high-energy events that may involve repairing up to 60 homes in a one-week period—a level of productivity that usually doesn’t go unnoticed due to its impact on the community. Whether painting a weathered home, nailing together a wheelchair ramp,
tutoring a child or interacting with a lonely elderly person, Group Workcamp participants are answers to prayers.
As Finis, a benefactor of Group Workcamps, said, “This has been one of the greatest weeks for me in so many ways. The whole group has shown so much love to one another and me, I thank God for them…My home is almost like a new home after what they’ve done.”
Safety is a top priority—from national background checks on all staff and adults down to detailed site inspections, Group Workcamps “sweat the small stuff.” When one considers all the details that are involved in such a trip, Holly, a youth worker, summed up why she would encourage anyone to g “Everyone thought I was crazy to lead our group here; but even though it took a lot of work, it was worth it!”
Open to students ages 12-20, campers lodge in a school located in the community that is being served by the workcamp, along with hundreds of fellow workers from other churches, many of whom become lifelong friends. Campers fan out to work on painting, building and other practical home-repair projects for elderly, disabled and economically disadvantaged citizens.
Additionally, campers’ evenings are filled with high-energy, interactive, media-rich programs and devotions. The songs they sing are relevant; the messages are meaningful; worship times are memorable. Programs focus on core Christian beliefs and are appropriate for all denominations.
“Week of Hope” events, which are open to students ages 12-20, offer an enriching experience helping others with whom they might not otherwise come in contact. Using a maximum of 99 workers at one time, Group Workcamps partners with local churches and human-service agencies in a given community to help serve in less physically demanding, but more intimate, spirit-building ways. Projects might include helping to staff a camp for disabled persons, assisting with a Vacation Bible School, tutoring struggling students or other humanitarian activities. Rather than dictate to the community what campers are willing to do, Group Workcamps tries to be responsive to perceived and expressed needs. The work crews are completely volunteer staffed, with each participating church required to send one adult for every five students.
Service Expeditions, typically open to students ages 14 and older, are international trips, offering a blend of home repair and community service opportunities. Visit groupworkcamps.com for more information on upcoming trips and costs.
For more information on how Group Workcamps can handle all of the logistics of a service and/or missions work project for your church or youth group, allowing youth leaders to focus solely on relationships with their youth while serving alongside them, go to Groupworkcamps.com or call 800.385.4545
