By Mary Beth Marino

There is a wonderful new “teenage craze” going on. It has nothing to do with punk hairstyles, designer jeans or idols like Rod Stewart and Boy George. It also has nothing to do with drugs, alcohol, runaways or teen suicide.

Nor has it anything to do with the “killer” or “nerds” people.

The craze addresses the large number of teenagers who are involved in volunteer work through their parishes, schools and families.

The trend has grown over the last several years. Teens have discovered the rewards of helping others while gaining positive feelings of self-esteem for themselves.

Teen depression and suicides are a growing concern. But there are several alternatives that can offer growth spiritually, intellectually and physically, and give meaning to the turbulent life of teenagers.

“Teen Volunteerism” has surfaced in the Atlanta area in growing proportions.

Some parishes have Fast-A-Thons that enable teens to fast for several hours over a weekend and have their hours matched financially by sponsors. The proceeds go to feed the poor. Another popular event is called “Run-For-Hunger” where the teens again, compete to feed the poor.

Blood drives are always a huge success. While helping the parish to staff the project, teens can draw satisfaction from knowing they are contributing their time to a worthwhile cause.

Five parishes have formed one large group that ministers to nursing homes, hospitals, schools and parties as clowns. This group called the “Heartlights” are also teaching others the art of clown ministry.

Let’s not forget all the commendable efforts of Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts that have had pre-teens and teens involved in service to the community for years!

There are also several hundred teenagers who are involved in the formation of “lock-ins” or “weekends.” These projects consist of planning spiritual retreats for other teenagers.

The hospitals account for a large number of teen volunteerism. St. Joseph’s hospital alone fosters a program where the “volunteers” are literally contributing hundreds of hours devoted to patient care, fund raising, and planning socials for employees or patients.

The teens at St. Jude’s parish prominently stand out as a group that has taken on the challenge of volunteerism full speed ahead!

Sixteen teenagers ranging from 15-18 years of age, volunteer their time to work with the handicapped.

The SPRED (Special Religious Education and Ministry with Handicapped persons) program involves teens teaching the handicapped about God through study and personal sharing.

Under the supervised expertise of Toni Miralles, the co-ordinator of the SPRED program, the teaching teens are growing spiritually and emotionally and expressing personal appreciation for their own physical and mental well-being.

“I had a teen who felt he wanted to work with the handicapped,” Ms. Miralles said. “However, once he learned he would be working with a cerebral palsy victim, he became concerned with his capabilities in handling the situation. Part of his help entailed changing diapers. His older sister encouraged him to at least ‘give it a try,’ and offered her assistance. In just a couple of hours, the boy was not only changing diapers, but was feeding the handicapped person as well. The teen and the handicapped boy are now close friends and good for each other,” Toni Miralles explained.

There are 28 handicapped members at St. Jude’s. They come from various areas around the archdiocese to participate in this special program.

The teens are paired up in a one-on-one situation. They utilize twelve different books to teach classes gearing the choice of material to the personal need of the handicapped individual.

The teens also keep a weekly journal dialoguing the lesson they taught, and how the student responded. They also send home an update of the day’s lesson so the parents can reinforce the lesson at home.

“The teenage teachers emphasize prayer and friendship with God,” Ms. Miralles said.

In addition to teaching on a weekly basis, the group plans a liturgy every month, goes on a big retreat weekend once a year, and has a Valentines dance every year.

The Catholic High Schools are also giving their students every opportunity to learn service ministry at a young age.

Marist High School’s “Campus Ministry Program,” under the associate directorship of Bro. Jack O’Brien, works with the seventh, eighth and ninth graders in a program called “Damascus.”

“The Damascus program that I envision is a program that tries to recognize students as they actually are,” Bro. O’Brien explained. He further added that the key is to approach the student at the right time, in the right way, and with the right dimension of the Christian message.

“I believe faith is revealed primarily in the real world in everyday circumstances. God tells us far more about himself in the little things in life than in all the great sermons. Very simply stated, faith involves us in a personal relationship with our God,” Bro. O’Brien said.

The first phase of the Damacus group encourages students to know themselves…then make them aware of the needs of others. The theme of the group is appropriately addressed, “out of service.” The idea is to reach out in service beyond the Marist High School community. They have worked at the Georgia Retardation Center; St. Francis soup kitchen; Egleston Hospital for children; they have had food and clothing drives and made valentines for the Mental Retardation Center; they bag popcorn for some 300 sports enthusiasts who attend a small get-together while waiting for the parking lot to clear after a home game; they stay busy!

The students also attend movies together to foster values and learn through the entertainment media. They attend Holy Thursday Chrism Mass and annually plan a lenten prayer service.

A look at St. Pius X High School’s Pastoral Ministry program finds a unique approach in their outreach of prompting teen volunteerism. The “Base Community Program” under the direction of Paul Ennis, assistant director of Pastoral Ministry, said approximately 310 students visit “host homes” every other Sunday evening. Geographically, the base draws from the metro Atlanta area and extends as far as Jonesboro, Marietta and Kennesaw. After every third meeting, the entire base community meets to share together and celebrate. A pot luck supper adds to their evening. The purpose of the base community is to discuss faith, develop friendships, discuss social and moral issues and attend home worship service. Often, the host homes invite a guest speaker to attend.

There are two priorities on the agenda this year for the pastoral ministry group at Marist. First, to minister in the local parishes and not just the school; secondly, to develop a peer ministry program which involves teens trained for thirty-six hours in the art of communication skills. These teen ministers will then help the other teens who have problems with drug and alcohol abuse, or peer pressure.

All of these proposed plans and projects do not account for the ongoing work that the teens are doing, such as: working at the soup kitchens, making sandwiches for shelters, working at the senior citizens’ homes and children’s hospital. There are also four major projects they participate in. They include: corresponding with the American soldiers in Lebanon, offering child care to those who lack funds, and they run a food drive and do fund raising for the crisis pregnancy program at the archdiocese.

“Faith is more than praying, it’s action,” stresses Paul Ennis. It’s important to keep the teens informed with social issues. A spirit conference allows the opportunity to discuss hunger, abortion, and aging…then we relate these issues to the metro Atlanta area and discuss alternatives,” Mr. Ennis explained.

This widespread “craze of teenage volunteerism shows that teens are doing some great things while growing spiritually, emotionally and physically. They are to be commended for reaching out in an attempt to pave the road for a richer, more compassionate future generation.