Youth Young Adult Ministries - Workcamp Locations

1. NEW WINDSOR, MD
The Brethren Service Center offers service opportunities in an easily accessible small-town setting while making a world-wide impact. Many Church of the Brethren and interdenominational agencies that are based here have global reaches; this is a place where our hands can truly become God’s hands, as the work done here will go beyond our national borders. Our work will involve processing donated clothing, packaging SERRV products, and assisting in the general maintenance of the Brethren Service Center.
June 17 – 21
Participants: 30 (CLOSED)
Cost: $225

2. “BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS” - ROANOKE, VA
In Roanoke, a city nestled in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, we will take advantage of the variety of urban, suburban and rural environments in which to serve. Our week could involve work with an inner-city school, soup kitchen, thrift store, and work on homes of the elderly. We will learn about need in unexpected places and on unfamiliar faces as we explore the variety of ways that we can serve. Come with an open mind, an open heart, and hands ready to be strengthened by God!
June 25 – 29
Participants: 24 (CLOSED)
Cost: $225

3 & 27. RICHMOND, VA (1 & 2)
Come to Richmond a week early for the workcamp and stay for Annual Conference as we celebrate the Church of the Brethren’s 300th anniversary. This workcamp will offer participants the opportunity to get out into the community and serve at many different locations around the city. Some projects will include working with area food banks, food pantries, and soup kitchens as well as working in community gardens and at the James River. Participants will have the opportunity to fellowship with people in the community and make a difference in their lives.
July 8 – 12 (CLOSED)
July 28 – Aug. 1 (NEW)
Participants: 30 each week
Cost: $225

4 & 29. ASHLAND, OHIO (1 & 2)
We will be working with Pump House Ministries, an organization that reaches out to the community by providing programs for children, families, and homeless men. This is a group of Christians that are thinking and ministering “outside the box” of most churches. They operate a thrift store, a five star restaurant, maintain a food pantry, provide “incubator space” for new businesses, provide job training, and the list goes on and on. Be a part of a church that is not centered around a church building and a Sunday morning worship service. Come stretch your muscles and your minds as we join in a ministry that impacts many people in the Ashland community.
July 28 – August 1 (CLOSED)
August 4 – 8 (NEW)
Participants: 30 each week
Cost: $225

5. BALTIMORE, MD
Our home base for the week will be the Dundalk Church of the Brethren. Dundalk has the honor of being the first planned community in the United States and was the home to many Bethlehem Steel workers. Even though the steel mills have shut down, Dundalk still remains, to this day, a “working class” neighborhood. Its proximity to Baltimore allows the agencies based in and around the church there to have a wide-reaching impact. Our work here will include activities such as repairing and face-lifting the homes of the elderly, working at a day shelter for homeless families, beautification of the neighborhood near the church, and working with a Family Crisis Center. Nearby recreation options include the Inner Harbor in Baltimore as well as the Orioles’ baseball team.
July 29 – Aug. 3
Participants: 25 (CLOSED)
Cost: $225

6. INDIANAPOLIS, IN
We will be working with “Rebuilding the Wall,” an ecumenical group whose mission is: “… stabilize and empower low-income families by renovating vacant inner-city properties and giving families the opportunity for homeownership. To combat social injustice by building relationships across racial and socio-economic barriers. Stabilize community by the recycling of assets within the neighborhood.” We will add the “strength of our hands” to this ongoing project through clearing, painting, and minor construction. Downtown Indianapolis boasts many well-known museums as well as an amazing zoo and a minor league baseball team.
August 6-10
Participants: 25 (CLOSED)
Cost: $225

7. HARRISBURG, PA
We will be working alongside Brethren Housing Association for this workcamp! BHA helps to provide housing and social services to homeless individuals and families in the Harrisburg area. BHA also aides in the transition to permanent housing, continuing or completing educational goals, and job placement. Our contribution to this cause will be to help with the maintenance of the property owned by BHA. We will work on renovations, yard work, painting, cleaning, and other projects!
June 30 – July 5 (CHANGED)
Participants: 25
Cost: $285

24. NEW WINDSOR, MARYLAND – On Earth Peace
Youth have the opportunity to engage in a week of service and experiential workshops around the concept of “undoing racism and global injustice.” Our home for this week will be the Brethren Service Center. Initiated by Brethren visionaries like M.R. Zigler, the Service Center has been and continues to be at the center of many peace-making and international outreach efforts. As the body of Christ, we will join our hands in service projects that have local, national, and global impacts with A Greater Gift (SERRV) and Brethren Disaster Ministries’ distribution center. Come work your minds as well as your bodies in this “thinking/working/faith-building” workcamp!
(Co-sponsored by On Earth Peace and the Youth/Young Adult Ministry Office)
June 22 – 26 (CHANGED)
Participants: 30
Cost: $225 (CHANGED)

8 & 16. “GULF COAST” - DISASTER RESPONSE (1 & 2)
Hurricane Katrina is now three years in our history but the devastation continues to inhibit the lives of tens of thousands. In response to this wide-spread catastrophe we will partner with the Church of the Brethren Disaster Ministries in a series of workcamps that will give you the opportunity to be Christ’s hands in action as help to repair homes of disaster survivors. Through interaction with a disaster-stricken community, you will identify with those who have lost much to a single destructive act of nature. The actual work location will be at a current disaster response project that will be identified approximately three months prior to the workcamps.
(8) June 15 – 21 (CLOSED)
(16) July 6 – 12 (LIMITED)
Participants: 16 each week
Cost: $265

9. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC -- BRF
This eight day workcamp is co-sponsored by the Brethren Revival Fellowship, Global Mission Partnerships Office, and the Youth/Young Adult Ministry Office. This workcamp is for those youth who identify with the views of the BRF. Conservative, evangelical ideals will be emphasized throughout the week under BRF leadership.
In a country faced with high unemployment and harsh poverty, the Dominican Republic is also a place rich in God’s Spirit. Since 1994, the Church of the Brethren has maintained a caring and helpful presence in the Dominican, learning and working side by side with the native Dominicans. Come join us as we worship, work, and fellowship alongside our Brethren Dominican sisters and brothers, journeying together in Christian community!
June 15 – 23
Participants: 15 (CLOSED)
Cost: $650

10. IDAHO MOUNTAIN CAMP
If you think that Idaho is just a giant potato farm, then accept this challenge to travel to what might be some of the most majestic mountain views to behold in the Northwest. Camp Wilbur Stover, of the Idaho District, is nestled in the wooded base mountains of the Payette National Forest. This 2.3 million acre forest is the largest wilderness area in the lower 48 states. It includes lakes and reservoirs, abandoned mines, and ghost towns. In one day you can travel from hot desert grasslands through cool conifer forests to snow-capped peaks. Camp Stover serves the six Brethren congregations that make up the entirety of the Idaho District, and it will serve as our home and base camp for our work during the week. Our work goal will be to partner with the Idaho Brethren to give Camp Wilbur Stover an early summer facelift: refurbishing cabins, painting, cutting firewood, clearing trails, and doing roof repairs, just to name a few of the job possibilities. We will also consider the ecological factors of living in a wilderness area. Mountain hiking, swimming in a hot springs pool, and rafting down a white water river are all possible recreation activities that might be included in this workcamp choice. Accept this challenge and you will leave Idaho knowing that, yes, they do grow potatoes, but it is also a place where your FAITH has grown in God’s majestic great outdoors.
June 16 -22
Participants: 40 (CLOSED)
Cost: $325

11. “JOHN KLINE HOMESTEAD” – BROADWAY, VA
In the year that we celebrate 300 years of the Church of the Brethren we have the opportunity to join in a “historic project”. “Elder John Kline devoted his adult life in service to others and to the German Baptist Brethren Church, and he fulfilled that devotion in a tireless, loving and understanding manner. The purpose for preservation of the John Kline Homestead will be to inspire Brethren and others to live their lives following Jesus’ example and teachings as did Elder Kline.” Come join in the early preservation work of the Elder John Kline Homestead. Our work will include clearing brush, preparing garden plots, painting, cleaning, and doing light construction. We will immerse ourselves in the life of Elder John Kline as we become more aware of the issues he faced in the early to mid-1800s. Be a part of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to contribute to the Elder John Kline legacy!
June 16 – 22
Participants: 30 (LIMITED)
Cost: $285

12. PUERTO RICO - CASTAÑER
An annual favorite of our workcamp locations, Castañer is located in the mountains of Puerto Rico. It is also a long established Brethren mission location. We will be working and worshiping with the Castañer Church of the Brethren as we help make much needed home repairs. Come willing to learn some life-lessons from this joy-filled, genuinely friendly culture and community.
June 16 – 23
Participants: 18 (CLOSED)
Cost: $405

13. “APPALACHIAN” – NEON, KY (1)
Travel into the “Heart of the Appalachian Mountains” as we partner with HOMES, Inc. (Housing Oriented Ministries Established for Service, Inc.) to assist in the demolition, building and remodeling of homes for low- and very low-income households in a three county area, near the southwestern boarder of Virginia. This is the most economically disadvantaged region in all of Kentucky. Our work will be more than building homes as we will also be building relationships and learning life-lessons from these giving and caring people. Bring an openness to have your values challenged and a willingness to work hard while sharing and learning carpentry skills on all levels.
June 29 – July 5
Participants: 40 (CLOSED)
Cost: $395

14 & 28. LAKOTA NATIVE AMERICAN–PINE RIDGE RESERVATION, SOUTH DAKOTA (1 & 2)
The Pine Ridge Reservation, is wedged between the beautiful Black Hills and wilderness area of the Badlands in southwestern South Dakota, and is the home of the Oglala Lakota Sioux Nation. The reservation is situated in one of the poorest counties in the U.S. and is plagued by widespread poverty, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and internal tribal conflict. In the Northeast corner of the Reservation is the town of Kyle. The Kyle community attempts to live according to many of the “traditional” Lakota tribal ways. Our home base for the week will be the Little Wound High School in Kyle, and our work for the week could include some heavy construction, roofing, painting, cleaning at the school, as well as miscellaneous work projects on some of the homes in the community. There will be a concentrated effort to learn as much as we can about the Lakota culture and history as we work and serve in this unique community. We also hope to establish some relationships with the youth in the community, by sharing sports, recreation, arts and crafts, and work time. Bring an open mind about immersing yourself in a different culture and learning from the Lakota people as well as sharing your gifts, values, and love.
June 23 – 29 (LIMITED)
June 30 – July 6 (CLOSED)
Participants: 30 each week
Cost: $405

15. EASTERN SHORE, MARYLAND
Camp Mardela is one of two Church of the Brethren camps located in lovely Maryland. Mardela has beautiful scenery and is close to both the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. According to their mission statement: “Camp Mardela seeks to provide children and adults with opportunities for spiritual growth, fellowship, and recreation in a setting that deepens their appreciation for God's creation.” There will be work on the camp property making minor repairs and building bridges as well as the possibility of working with children in the community for a short day-camp experience. Rehoboth Beach is a nearby option for a day of fun!
June 30 – July 6
Participants: 30
Cost: $285

17. KEYSER, WEST VIRGINIA
One of our favorite workcamp locations returns this year to our workcamp schedule! Helping Hands of the Potomac Highlands was founded in 1996 with the goal of connecting people in need with people who are willing to offer their time and resources to help others. Our home base for the week will be the Keyser Church of the Brethren and we will be working on homes in the community that are in need of repair. Possible projects include painting, minor construction, yard clean-up, and cleaning. Join us as God strengthens our hands to help and learn from our sisters and brothers in the beautiful mountains of West Virginia.
July 6 – 12
Participants: 30
Cost: $325

18. ASHLAND, OHIO
We will be working with Pump House Ministries, an organization that reaches out to the community by providing programs for children, families, and homeless men. This is a group of Christians that are thinking and ministering “outside the box” of most churches. They operate a thrift store, a five star restaurant, maintain a food pantry, provide “incubator space” for new businesses, provide job training, and the list goes on and on. Be a part of a church that is not centered around a church building and a Sunday morning worship service. Come stretch your muscles and your minds as we join our hands in a ministry that impacts many people in the Ashland community.
July 20 – 26
Participants: 30
Cost: $285

19. CHICAGO, IL
York Center Church of the Brethren in Lombard, Illinois will host this workcamp just outside the great metropolis of Chicago! York Center hosts a summer youth program, with whom we will partner for the week. We look to exchange our gifts and love with the youth as well as other community members. We will also have the opportunity to accompany them to the local Dupage County Fair for a day! Additional projects will take us out into the community to work with the elderly and homeless. Come ready to experience a wide variety of work in the greater Chicagoland area and to reach out as the hands of God!
July 21 -27
Participants: 26 (CLOSED)
Cost: $285

20. ST. CROIX, VIRGIN ISLANDS (1)
Most visitors to St. Croix only experience the pristine beaches and tourist resorts of this tropical paradise. We will move past this superficial exposure and work with Lutheran Social Services, St. Croix Environmental Association, a women’s shelter, and on the homes of some of the Island’s economically disadvantaged. Our goal is to touch the lives of the island’s permanent residents and allow them to touch ours. Iglesia Metodista Church will be our home for the week, and we will learn from their generous hospitality as we worship and work with them. Come experience the part of the Virgin Islands that will never be portrayed in a tourist guide book as we continue to build relationships with the many different people of St. Croix. (P.S. Did we fail to mention the beautiful, blue Caribbean water in which we will swim in each day and possibly the opportunity to snorkel a coral reef? It is all part of the St. Croix experience! Maybe this is why St. Croix is an annual favorite “sell-out” workcamp destination. Sign up early!)
July 28 – August 3
Participants: 30 (CLOSED)
Cost: $425

21. REYNOSA, MEXICO
Children’s Haven International provides housing and a stable living environment for thirty-five children in Reynosa, Mexico. We will live, eat and work at the home, providing extra love and attention for the children. Our work will also involve light construction and maintenance of the facility, as well as outreach projects in the city of Reynosa. Come with your Spanish dictionary in hand and a eagerness to learn about the economic and social conditions in the border communities.
August 3 – 9
Participants: 36
Cost: $435

22. GULF COAST FLORIDA - N. FORT MYERS, FL
ECHO (Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization) works to end world hunger by developing innovative ways of growing and harvesting indigenous crops in more impoverished countries. Participants will be working on the farm at ECHO and also in the gardens, interacting with interns and missionaries that have come from all over the world to learn from the research at ECHO. Come with willing hands to explore agricultural and global environmental issues.
August 4 – 10
Participants: 25
Cost: $385

23. “GULF COAST” - DISASTER RESPONSE
Hurricane Katrina is now three years in our history but the devastation continues to inhibit the lives of tens of thousands. In response to this wide-spread catastrophe we will partner with the Church of the Brethren Disaster Ministries in a series of workcamps that will give you the opportunity to be Christ’s hands in action as help to repair homes of disaster survivors. Through interaction with a disaster-stricken community, you will identify with those who have lost much to a single destructive act of nature. The actual work location will be at a current disaster response project that will be identified approximately three months prior to the workcamp.
June 8 – 14
Participants: 16
Cost: $265

25. “APPALACHIAN” – NEON, KY (2)
Travel into the “Heart of the Appalachian Mountains” as we partner with HOMES, Inc. (Housing Oriented Ministries Established for Service, Inc.) to assist in the demolition, building and remodeling of homes for low- and very low-income households in a three county area, near the southwestern boarder of Virginia. This is the most economically disadvantaged region in all of Kentucky. Our work will be more than building homes as we will also be building relationships and learning life lessons from these giving and caring people. Bring an openness to have your values challenged and a willingness to work hard while sharing and learning carpentry skills on all levels.
July 6 – 12
Participants: 40
Cost: $395

26. ST. CROIX, VIRGIN ISLANDS 2
Most visitors to St. Croix only experience the pristine beaches and tourist resorts of this tropical paradise. We will move past this superficial exposure and work with Lutheran Social Services, St. Croix Environmental Association, a women’s shelter, and on the homes of some of the Island’s economically disadvantaged. Our goal is to touch the lives of the island’s permanent residents and allow them to touch ours. Iglesia Metodista Church will be our home for the week and we will learn from their generous hospitality as we worship and work with them. Come experience the part of the Virgin Islands that will never be portrayed in a tourist guide book as we continue to build relationships with the many different people of St. Croix. (P.S. Did we fail to mention the beautiful blue Caribbean water in which we will swim in each day and possibly the opportunity to snorkel a coral reef? It is all part of the St. Croix experience! Maybe this is why St. Croix is an annual favorite “sell-out” workcamp destination. Sign up early!)
August 4 – 10
Participants: 30 (CLOSED)
Cost: $425

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