WorkCamp 2026

WorkCamp 2026 is a fantastic week of service for hundreds of high-school teenagers sponsored by the Diocese of Arlington! This year the camp will be in Shenendoah County, Virginia, from Saturday, June 20 through Friday, June 26. The Cathedral of St Thomas More plans to send a group to WorkCamp and hopes that you are interested in attending! I will be the Stakeholder responsible for helping prepare our parish group and am happy to answer any of your questions along the way. We start every day with mass, work on a home in need during the day building wheelchair ramps, installing windows, painting houses and repairing roofs to make the residents safer, dryer, and warmer while growing in our faith and holiness through works of mercy. In the evening we have fun with friends at program.

If you are interested, please reach out or meet us in person at our bake sale on Jan 25 after mass to learn about our Feb 1 meeting.

Prior to registering, please be certain that your family is willing and able to meet the obligations of WorkCamp beginning now through the end of the camp in June 2026. This means that your child is expected at all parish formation meetings, fundraising activities, and service opportunities leading up to WorkCamp and will strictly adhere to the Youth Participant Code of Conduct. We are asking for a deposit of $100 to the Cathedral per youth if you are able, and we plan to fundraise the rest of the money for your child to attend through bake sales, a trivia night, donation booth and more.

Signing up with the parish is the first step but no guarantee of WorkCamp attendance. We are likely to bring all youth that sign up by January (if we have enough adult leaders for the whole week), but after that larger parishes get to fill in with their waiting lists. We also need to ensure the youth are prepared spiritually through attending these monthly meetings and financially through active participation in fund raising. If the youth is frequently absent from our meetings, bake sales, and more by mid-March (and lacking a deposit), we will need to talk about their commitment to the parish team and readiness to be part of a WorkCamp crew. STM is responsible for paying for all youth who aren’t dropped by mid-April.

The Diocese’s registration site is as user-friendly as possible, and the first step is for parents to fill out the form and to find or create your family “portal”. All youth participants must be registered by a parent or guardian. After that, the procedure is hopefully straightforward! If you have questions, the attached registration guide will attempt to answer them. If not, please let me know. Sign-up: WorkCamp Registration Form

I look forward to working alongside you and your teen to prepare throughout this year for a wonderful, and life-changing, week of service.

In Christ,

Benjamin Paczak
bpaczak@cathedralstm.org
STM WorkCamp Stakeholder

PS, We also need help from parents and parish adults to volunteer for one day or night at WorkCamp or even for the whole week. Adults within the parish are also invaluable, helping as a week-long adult crew leader, contractor, or one day as Homebase security. We would also love to borrow minivans (chairs and floor will be wrapped in plastic) so we don’t have to rent them.