Nick Meekins, left, and his friend Anthony Solazzo delivered a truck filled with donated items for Glenmary missions in Vanceburg and West Liberty, Ky.

At the end of their week at the Glenmary Farm in Vanceburg, Ky., high school and college volunteers complete a questionnaire about their experiences at the Farm. Consistently, year after year, the volunteers’ answers indicate that their experiences are profound and have a deep impact on their lives. Many are inspired to continue their relationship with the Farm and say they hope to find ways to continue their outreach efforts once they return home.

Nick Meekins came to the Farm in October 2006 as a chaperone for a student group from Mount St. Mary’s University, Emmitsburg, Md. He had never been to the Farm as a student but had heard from friends that “it was an amazing experience.” Asked if the Farm lived up to the stories he heard, Nick says, “It was better!”

The Glenmary Farm, located in Lewis County, one of Kentucky’s poorest counties, is home to Glenmary’s Group Volunteer Program. This program is designed to give participants a firsthand experience of missionary service. For over 30 years, over 500 volunteers have passed annually through the Farm.

During his week in Kentucky, Nick worked on a construction project with People’s Self-Help Housing, at Comprehend (the Lewis County adult day center) and at Lend a Helping Hand, a food pantry in nearby Tollesboro, Ky. “The work we did was really eye-opening,” Nick says. “When you grow up in suburbia, you take things for granted. But I came back with a whole new perspective on life.”

Upon his return to Baltimore, where he works for the Social Security Administration, Nick shared stories of his experiences with family and friends. He told of the Farm managers he met. He told of the people of Lewis County and the stories they told about growing up in rural Kentucky, a lifestyle vastly different from his own suburban childhood. He told of families living in shabby, unsafe homes and elderly people whose children have left the area to find jobs because so few employment opportunities are available in Eastern Kentucky.

Nick’s friends were eager to get involved. They began to gather food, clothing and toys for the people in Lewis County. News of the collection, Nick says, “started by word of mouth and from there it just grew.” Although he credits word of mouth for the spread of information, he also points to the 21st-century version of the grapevine: the Internet.

Nick created a flyer describing the project and sent it to just 16 people who forwarded it to people they knew, and by mid December the strings of forwarded e-mails resulted in a stuffed-to-the-top Penske rental truck. On Dec. 22, Nick and his friend Anthony Solazzo arrived at Glenmary headquarters in Cincinnati with items that would later be delivered to Glenmary missions in Vanceburg and West Liberty, Ky.

Nick also told of his experiences at the Farm on MySpace.com, a social networking Web site that enables people to communicate with friends through the Internet. Nick described his Farm experiences for his friends on MySpace, and some of those friends shared his stories with their friends, creating a Glenmary ripple in cyberspace. “It was all pretty cool,” Nick says.

Like Nick, the lives of many volunteers have been touched—and shaped—by the lessons they learned and experiences they had at the Farm.

Former Farm manager Dan Burke (1984-85) reflects on “Why the Farm Matters” in an essay posted on the Glenmary Web site. He recalls Glenmary Father Jerry Dorn telling volunteers to “be still and listen,” to experience the peace of the Farm.

Dan, now an attorney, writes that his Farm lessons have remained with him, reminding him to “see beyond the surface of the lives of others” and “to see others as worthy of respect and dignity, regardless of their education, material possessions or how ‘different’ from me they might be.”

Father Jerry, who now pastors Glenmary’s mission in nearby West Liberty, still visits the Farm and talks with volunteers. He says he encourages the volunteers to relax in the peace of the Farm, as a contrast to the busy lifestyle of modern society. “I hope to have them see a different culture, one that focuses on family and crops and weather,” Father Jerry says. But in order to notice those things, volunteers first need to slow down and meet themselves and God in nature.

Steve Dane experienced that slow-down and continues to create ripples that started during his time at the Farm in the 1970s. He told Glenmary Challenge in 2000, “The priests and brothers of Glenmary epitomize what it means to be ‘disciples’ of Christ in this modern era. Like Jesus, they live and work humbly, hand in hand with the poor…they provide authentic Christian role models.”

In following those role models, Steve, also an attorney, focused much of his career on such issues as insurance red-lining and discriminatory practices, efforts that demonstrate a life dedicated to living the Gospel. He credits his experiences as a Farm volunteer building houses for the poor as having heightened his awareness of fair housing issues.

When volunteers arrive at the Farm, few know what to expect. But after experiencing what Nick Meekins describes as “eye-opening work,” many depart with the motivation to take what they have learned and share it with others. In doing so, they allow the lessons from the Glenmary Farm to ripple through their lives and communities.

This article originally appeared in the April 2007 Boost-A-Month Club Newsletter