CTK Students Travel to Appalachia this Summer for Service

Nine Christ the King students, three CTK alumni, and three chaperones accompanied members of St. Giles Parish on an Appalachian service project to Letcher County Kentucky this summer. In preparation for the trip students participated in a year-long formation program to travel over five hundred miles to serve the people of Appalachia with basic home repairs.

The mission of the Appalachia Service Project is to help make homes warmer, dryer, and safer through basic home repair. This year's projects consisted of dry walling and painting new rooms, the installation of new flooring, doors, and baseboard, as well as some electrical and roofing work.

Students were also challenged to step out of their comfort zone and build relationships not only with their student work groups but also with the families they served. Throughout the week, our students truly shined as they served the Appalachian region in an effort to lighten the burdens of rural poverty. The trip was funded through the generosity of St. Giles Parish in Oak Park, IL, as well as several small fundraisers put on by students both at CTK and through St. Giles.

"It is always great to see young people in action to serve others. At Christ the King, we really challenge our students to be men and women for others. Our students truly answered the call to serve this summer." Michael Laughlin, CTK Mathematics Teacher and chaperone.