Caldwell College students Travel to Appalachia for Winter Break Service-Retreat

Left to right: Campus Ministry outreach coordinator Meghan Moran with students Elizabeth Hooban, Candice Anastasi, Melissa Brady, Raja Karki and Christopher Petrillo at Bethlehem Farm in West Virginia during Winter Break. They spent a week working alongside the poor in Appalachia.

Caldwell, NJ – January 31, 2012 - Caldwell College students gave up their smart phones, iPODs, internet access, all things “connected” to serve and live alongside the poor in Appalachia for a week during Winter Break in January. Students Melissa Brady, Elizabeth Hooban, Christopher Petrillo, Raja Karki, Candice Anastasi, and Campus Ministry outreach coordinator Meghan Moran volunteered at Bethlehem Farm, a Catholic community in Alderson, West Virginia. The students did home repair, farm chores, and served at the food pantry and Loaves and Fishes thrift store. “They learned to live a simplistic and sustainable lifestyle by limiting the amount of showers, eating organic locally grown food and conserving electricity,” Moran said.

Hooban said it was an amazing experience and that she actually liked not being digitally connected. “Usually when you go away you bring everything.” There was something special about living life without all that noise. In addition, she learned different skills and did things she never thought she could do like install insulation. “I got to crawl under a house. That was fun,” Hooban said.

Moran says the foundation of the experience is to expose students to Catholic Social Teaching and then have them serve in the community. “Learning about Catholic Social Teaching before we serve, sets the foundation for our week of service.” Also joining the Caldwell group were students from University of Dayton and University of New Hampshire.

While on the farm, the volunteers learn how to live out the Gospel message through service. They are exposed to the lifestyle of the poor and they experience God by building relationships with the other volunteers and the people who live in the local community. They are invited to live out the Gospel values of service, prayer, simplicity and community.