St. Charles Borromeo Group

St. Charles Borromeo brought their high school age group again this year for their 16th year! This group has not only consistently given a week of their summer, with new kids taking up the mantle, but also has a reputation for getting things done. The kids were joined by Fr. Jeff Stegbauer (kneeling far left), one of the Associate Pastors of their parish family, Seminarian Ben Kalis (kneeling far right), as well as a number of adult chaperones. They split up into three groups, one made up of the girls, and the other two splitting the boys in half.

I had the privilege of helping out the girls group, who have a reputation for working far better together than the boys. Having three sisters myself, I was hesitant to believe a large group of girls could work together without bickering, but I was overjoyed to find a cohesive unit that worked very well together. We worked together to build a ramp for Gary, an older gentleman struggling with Parkinson’s who lives with his wife, Nancy. Because of the group’s efficiency, we also had time to repair their deck.

Sebastian spent his time with one of the boys groups, building a ramp for the Piggs, who travel back and forth from the hospital with their son who has cancer. The ramp allowed him easier and safer access to the house. The major “roadblock” for this group was having to dig 14 post holes, mostly through an old driveway filled with rocks! That did not stop them, though, and spud bars (long metal tools for breaking up rocks) became Sebastian’s favorite tool.

Dominick went with the last group, building both a ramp and new porch for the Maynards, who have a young daughter with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, meaning she has to wear braces to learn to walk, so the sturdier more spacious porch as well as ramp will be a huge help for one of the sweetest girls.

CJ got to spend time at each job site, as he was moving between with Jeremy, checking in on what each crew needed. Often, Jeremy would turn around for a minute only to find CJ right in the middle of the work, getting things done.

All in all, this group was wonderful, even inviting us to Taco Tuesday dinner and ice cream on Wednesday. They truly embraced a joyful spirit, bringing that not only to their job sites and homeowners, but also us here at FBAMC. As Father Beiting used to say: “Until we meet again, may you always go with God.”

The completed section of Nancy’s and Gary’s deck

The completed rock-solid ramp at the Pigg residence