In her first four months as Youth Ministry Coordinator for Viatorian parishes in the Bourbonnais/Kankakee region, Amanda Fierce is introducing lots of new events and service opportunities. They range from a trip to Six Flags Great America and a recent dinner and bonfire, to a weekly summer Bible study, and a pair of service opportunities to help families with hospitalized children.
Maternity BVM Youth Ministry members with one of the cooks
“I appreciate the variety of activities that she has come up with,” says Fr. Jason Nesbit, CSV, Pastor, “and that she makes it a priority that it’s a Viatorian Youth Ministry. It shows our commitment not only to working with young people, but our commitment to working together.”
This week, Mrs. Fierce accompanied students to volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House, located near Comer’s Children’s Hospital at the University of Chicago’s Medical Center. The home was completely remodeled in 2019 and has 22 rooms for families to stay while their child is in active treatment at nearby hospitals,
it was a rush to get there. They left immediately after school, drove one hour to the house and set out to work to serve dinner by 5:30 p.m. With no time to spare, students rolled up their sleeves, donned hair nets and aprons in preparation to prepare dinner.
Their menu consisted of Italian beef sandwiches, salad and fries. Working in the home’s commercial-sized kitchen, students chopped up ingredients for the salad, baked the fries on large baking sheets and set out the buns for the sandwiches. They also cleaned all of the tables and helped set up for dinner.
Preparing salad
.”I know the importance of supporting families at critical times,” Mrs. Fierce says. “The kids got to look around the house and were surprised to learn that families sleep there and have leisure areas. It’s more like a home away from home instead of a hotel.”
Later this month, Youth Ministry students will volunteer for another set of families with seriously ill children, only this time closer to home. They will be gathering at Mattea’s Joy, a nonprofit organization started by a Bourbonnais couple after the loss of their 10-month old daughter, Mattea. The organization strives to provide care, connection and community for families with hospitalized children.
Maternity students will gather in the organization’s volunteer space to help assemble care packages brought to sick children at Riverside Healthcare and Ascension Saint Mary, as well as the same Ronald McDonald House and other hospitals in Chicago and Champaign.
Fr. Nesbit says these types of service projects employ the hearts and hands of young people in service to others, in this case seriously ill children and their families.
“People can be the Church in our world when they have the opportunity to serve,” he says. “Projects like these bring the gospel message alive, as we respond to the needs of others, and especially when we do it together.”