CHAPERONE & GROUP LEADER INFORMATION
QUESTIONS + CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have questions about your week, DO NOT CONTACT the parish. Contact Kyle Kuckelman at kylek@archkck.org with any questions leading up to the trip. The Prayer & Action mission team will be given to you at your arrival.
ARRIVAL & DEPARTURE
Please arrive at the parish with your group between 4 and 5pm. The week officially kicks off with dinner at 5:45pm. The week concludes around Noon on Friday (prior to lunch).
TENTATIVE ITINERARY
Each day begins around 7:30am and concludes around 9pm, consisting of the following: Rosary, Mass, breakfast, going to worksites (9am to 3pm, lunch included), returning to shower, time for fellowship/rest back at Church Campus (3:30 - 5pm), dinner, followed by the evening Collatio Program (meaning, “bringing together”) generally from 6:30 - 9pm).
SLEEPING & SHOWERING
The participants (youth + chaperones) will be staying in the facilities of the host parish/site. School classrooms will be used for sleeping arrangements, with male + female participants segregated into distinct areas of the school building, each group having access to their own gender-oriented bathrooms. Typically, showering facilities are located off-site (i.e., local high school), and are only accessible one time per day upon the return from the worksite to the church.
GROUP ASSIGNMENTS
Participants will be assigned to a group team ranging from 8-10 participants, including at least two adult chaperones per group. Each group will be non-parish specific, as well as co-ed. Furthermore, these groups will serve as each person’s group throughout the week for worksites and team competitions (activities that happen during the day), while small group discussions associated with the Collatio/catechetical portion of Prayer + Action will always be with each participant’s parish/school (activities and group discussion that take place toward the end of each day).
NOTE: Chaperones, please be prepared to make group assignment recommendations on behalf of any participant who you know to need a particular group dynamic/pairing in order to thrive.
TRANSPORTATION
Each parish/school entity bringing a group is responsible for providing a means of transportation for the total number of their participants to and from Prayer + Action, as well as throughout the week while traveling daily to worksites and back. For this reason, vans, mini-vans, and/or SUVs are highly recommended in order to maximize capacity. The parish/chaperone/volunteer’s insurance will be primary if an accident occurs, and the policy covering their own vehicle must maintain minimum liability coverage on their vehicle of $100,000/$300,000.
SNACKS + MEALS
We recommend parish groups bring snacks to be shared with the entire group during downtime at the parish. Please bring snacks that are wrapped for individual consumption and/or easily stored and refrigerated depending on the type of snack (i.e., fruits and vegetables). Recognizing that the variety and quantity of snacks will vary from week to week, the Prayer + Action Staff will moderate their distribution, making them available during down time at their discretion.
Relying on donations for the majority of our food, all meals are approached with a missionary spirit in mind. Typically, breakfast consists of a combination of cereal, fruit, and bread (toast/bagels). Packed lunches to be eaten at the worksite consist of lunch meat or peanut butter + jelly sandwiches, as well as chips and a vegetable/fruit. Dinners vary from casseroles, to tacos, to hamburgers/hotdogs, pasta, and the like. For those with allergies or other special dietary restrictions, participants may desire or need to bring their own snack/meal items, or it is possible that the Prayer + Action team may be able to provide for those individuals. This can be discussed and arranged closer to camp dates, simply by noting this on the registration form.
MONEY
While everything essential is covered for all participants through their registration fee, there may be a few things they wish to purchase at the end of the week. In addition to receiving a FREE t-shirt, participants will have the opportunity to purchase additional items (stickers to t-shirts) that range in cost up to $20 per item. Participants may also wish to bring money for food + drinks to and from Bishop Ward (where showers are located), but that is up to the discretion of each group’s chaperones. Finally, while we neither encourage nor prefer that group chaperones permit their groups to purchase soo drinks and/or ice cream during their return from worksites throughout the week, we do encourage such a stop on the final day at the worksites (Thursday). Oftentime, this becomes one more small incentive for the youth to work hard throughout the week, with the chaperone of each group covering the cost of this gesture.
WORKSITE INFORMATION
Worksites vary from the home and particular situations/needs of local residents, to larger entities representing the local community. Participants should be prepared to engage in work that ranges from painting, to yard work, to cleaning, to moving furniture, to helping to build/repair a fence, a deck, or a shed. While our goal is to have a single worksite that each group can begin and finish over the course of the week, sometimes the nature of the work and mission calls for some groups to engage multiple worksites throughout the week. Even if your group finds itself completing a larger job that was begun by a group the week prior to your arrival, or beginning but unable to finish a job assigned for your week, remember that all work is a participation in the eternal work of God, thus holding the power to impact and transform the lives of the participants, as well as those they serve. And then to remember, the greater work of God which is at the heart of the mission of Prayer + Action includes the relationships that are forged throughout the week.
NOTE: BEGINNING ON SUNDAY EVENING, EACH NIGHT CHAPERONES WILL BE PREPPED ON THE SPECIFIC NATURE OF THEIR WORKSITE, AS WELL AS BE GIVEN A CHANCE TO INFORM THE PRAYER + ACTION TEAM OF ANYTHING THAT WILL BETTER HELP TO MAKE THEIR PARTICULAR WORKSITE SITUATION A SUCCESS FROM DAY TO DAY. FINALLY, IF ANY CHAPERONES HAVE A BACKGROUND IN ENGINEERING OR CONSTRUCTION, PLEASE INFORM THE TEAM PRIOR TO YOUR ARRIVAL, SO THAT WE CAN PLACE YOU AT A WORKSITE THAT WILL BENEFIT FROM YOUR EXPERTISE.
SAFE ENVIRONMENT + OTHER POLICIES
In accordance with our Archdiocesan Safe Environment Policies, the adult to student ratio is 1:7. You must provide adequate adult chaperones to monitor your youth. This includes being at least 21 years of age for the sake of transporting youth, as well as taking into consideration the need for both male + female chaperones to complement the makeup of your male + female participants. All chaperones must be virtus-trained for ministry within our Archdiocese. Because of their responsibilities to serve the whole group and to prepare for each next day, the Prayer + Action Team won’t be able to directly chaperone your students. Furthermore, all disciplinary action will be handled in accord with agreements found in the Adult and Youth Waiver Forms, which are filled out by you and your participants prior to your arrival. Finally, all mandating reporting situations will be handled according to Archdiocesan Safe Environment Policies.