This article originally appeared in the April 2005 Boost-A-Month Club Newsletter

Spring ‘Madness’ at the Glenmary Farm
By Margaret Gabriel

Fred Yonga, a Marian College nursing student, shows Julia Power of St. Anselm the finer points of chopping wood at the Farm.

While many high school and college students take to beaches or basketball tournaments during spring break, Glenmary has its own brand of “madness” each spring.

In Vanceburg, Ky., the “madness” of March begins with “frenzy” in February and ends with an “all-out effort” in April as hundreds of volunteers take part in a spring-break immersion experience that blends service, prayer and a simple community lifestyle at the Glenmary Farm. In the process of learning about the Appalachian culture, volunteers often find they’ve learned even more about themselves—and how they want to live the rest of their lives.

The week of March 5-12 was “mad” in a fun kind of way when groups from South Dakota State University (Brookings, S.D.), Loyola University (Chicago), Marian College (Indianapolis), St. Anselm College (Manchester, N.H.) and Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green, Ohio) arrived at the Farm. Over 50 people—students, chaperones and advisors, Farm managers and Glenmary volunteer director Joe Grosek—spent the week together sharing meals, work details and reflection. (Over the years more than 15,000 young people have had this opportunity to participate in the Group Volunteer Program at the Glenmary Farm.)

Valerie McDaniel, one of three volunteer Farm managers, explains the “routine” for a typical week: After the groups arrive, off-load their gear (one small bag each!) and settle into their rustic, dorm-like sleeping quarters, they divide into work groups for the week.

“We like to put strangers together in work groups,” Val says. “We want people to get to know each other by getting out of their comfort zones. By mixing everybody up, it helps to develop the larger community, too.”

Each group during the week of March 5 is named for a character on TV’s “The Brady Bunch.” (The three groups the previous week had been named for the Three Stooges.) Groups rotate work sites each day of the week. The first day, “Marcia” sorts and displays clothes at the Something Else Shop, a used-clothing store located next door to Holy Redeemer Church, the Glenmary mission in Vanceburg. “Greg” works at a People’s Self-Help Housing construction site. “Cindy” and “Peter” visit Edith Smith (aka “The Wild Woman”) to learn more about the Appalachian culture and lifestyle. Meanwhile, “Bobby” and “Jan” stay at the Farm to clean, cook and perform other necessary chores, like chopping wood.

Julia Power, a student at St. Anselm , says she had no idea what to expect because former Farm volunteers from her school all describe the experience differently. For over 10 years students from St. Anselm have been coming to the Farm, one of 14 alternative spring break locations for the New Hampshire students. “People go as far as Costa Rica or are as close to home as Lawrence, Mass.,” Julia says.

Matt Day, a graduate student and university advisor at Loyola , says alternative spring breaks seem more common at Catholic and other denominational schools, but believes that as young people hear about the opportunities, they are interested in participating, even those who attend public and secular institutions.

For Dustin Matthews, another Loyola student, this is his fourth trip to the Farm. He is considering coming for a year as a Farm manager. “I like the sense of community that the Farm builds,” Dustin says. “And the people of Lewis County are awesome!”

Community prayer is a part of the Farm experience for every volunteer group. But this week, because Father Paul Rutten came as a member of the group from South Dakota State, daily Mass is also available in the Farm chapel. The first Mass of the week saw each worshiper—and the celebrant—in sock feet, with muddy shoes piled outside the door in order to protect the chapel’s clean carpet.

“Why have we come from South Dakota to Kentucky?” Father Paul asks during his homily. “We like to think that we’ll make a difference here, but we may never see the fruits of our labors. Jesus will show us, though, and we must return home and bring Jesus to the people there, because they, too, are in search of peace.”

Tom Steiner, a student at Ball State University (Muncie, Ind.), is thinking about the possibility of a long-term volunteer position with Glenmary. Tom, who will graduate in the spring, says although people often tithe money or goods, it’s much more difficult to get people to give of their time. “I’m at a unique time in my life. I’m not married, I’m not engaged, I don’t have a job yet. I want to give a year of service to God and to the Church.”

Former Farm volunteers often find that service, which starts with a week in Lewis County, becomes a month or a year in Kentucky or elsewhere—and then becomes a lifelong commitment of service to Church and community.

The Glenmary Farm is an important part of Glenmary’s mission, explains volunteer director Joe Grosek. “It’s an important way to continue to expose young people to the mission need right in our country—and to invite them to join Glenmary in responding to that need.”