Home improvement: Catholic youth aid resident

'Our youth group has two retreats each year, in the spring and fall,' said Norma Rothschadl, director of religious education and youth ministry, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, Carrollton. 'The spring retreat tends to be a service-oriented project. This Lent season, we wanted to focus on those in need in our community.'

Rothschadl said the youth decided to help a parish member whose Carrollton home needed extensive repairs, renovation and painting.

'Our summer mission trips have taken us to Knoxville, Tampa and Orlando,' she said. 'One of our major projects has been painting homes for economically challenged people. Typically, over a four-day period, we have five or six teams, with one or two adults, paint a house.'

Rothschadl said the group did an analysis before deciding on this spring's project.

'As great as it is to travel, we realized the kind of people we've been serving also exist right here in Carroll County,' she said. 'An extreme home makeover can make a huge difference in someone's life.'

She said the final team consisted of about 40 teens and 15 adults, and the project work was set for Saturday, March 15.

'All last week, the weather forecast predicted rain for Saturday,' she said. 'We were praying that we would be able to get the work done before the rain came in. We experienced two miracles. The rain held off, and we were able to do all the work in one day.'

Rothschadl said the enthusiasm of the youths attracted many others to help out.

'It started off as a youth function, but it eventually involved the whole parish,' she said. 'We painted the entire house in one day and did landscaping work on the grounds.'

Rothschadl said that a preliminary survey showed that the house would need extensive repairs before the painting began.

'Two exterior walls had to be replaced due to rotting and we changed out nine windows,' she said. 'We spent more than $3,000 in repairs, thanks to the generosity of our parish people. Many, who couldn't work, gave us generous donations. We were able to get the windows at cost.'

She said one parishioner, Bob Thornton, is a contractor and knew what parts were needed and how the work needed to be done.

'The project wouldn't have been possible without him,' she said.

Rothschadl said she hopes the spring Lent project can become an annual event for the youth group and she is inviting other local churches to join the campaign.

'We don't have to go out of our area to find people to help,' she said. 'We have lots of people in need here in our own community. It's a way we can serve others during the Lenten season.'

Rothschadl added that while the retreat was mainly a Saturday event, it actually began on Friday night, with the teens doing numerous 'random acts of kindness' around Carrollton.

'The idea was for them to realize that charity begins with a desire to express kindness and love to our neighbors,' she said. 'They had a great time completing these acts of kindness and realizing how great it feels to just be kind.'

She said some of the activities they did Friday night included leaving coins for people to use in the washers and dryers at the landromats; buying coffee for people and giving a Subway gift card to a police officer; and giving bottled water to people working on a broken-down car.

Rothschadl noted that Jesus' call to his disciples was to help their brothers and sisters in need.

Matthew 25:35 says, 'For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in.'

Rothschadl observed, 'The season of Lent calls for us to pray, fast and give alms. Many were able to fulfill their Lenten calling through this project.'

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church is located at 210 Old Center Point Road, Carrollton. Father Rafael Carballo is the pastor. The church phone number is 770-832-8977 and the website is olpharchatl.catholicweb.com.