Bosco Drexel Summer Youth Mission helps students put their faith in action

“Some give by going and some go by giving,” Father Bob Sanson told students participating in the Bosco Drexel Summer Youth Mission when they visited St. Therese at St. Mary of the Woods in Avon recently.

The group, which includes about 130 junior high and high school students, is a ministry of the Avon Catholic Community. Students represent Holy Trinity and St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception schools in Avon, Avon Local Schools, homeschoolers and some from surrounding parishes and school districts. A commissioning Mass, at which the missionaries were blessed and sent forth, began their summer of service.

“The vision was simple but powerful: To help young people and their families discover that missionaries are not only those who serve in far-off countries, but that each of is called to be a missionary right where we live,” said Desi Gould, Avon Catholic Community’s director of evangelization.

She said Father Vincent Hawk, pastor of Holy Trinity and St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, the parishes comprising the Avon Catholic Community, gave his blessing to the program, which began with 60 young people serving at Vacation Bible School and participating in a few local service opportunities. This summer, it more than doubled in size.

In June, the students again assisted with the large VBS program and they organized a community blood drive with the Red Cross. Then in July, their focus turned outward as they volunteered with nonprofit partners and responded to community needs. In August, the program concluded with a celebration of all that was accomplished. Throughout the summer, the student missionaries gathered for social events and faith formation while being encouraged to participate in youth ministry and parish life.

Michael Wiltshire, director of pastoral care at St. Therese at St. Mary of the Woods, said residents enjoyed interacting with the young people. “They told me you brought joy,” he said.

After attending Mass celebrated by Father Sanson, the young missionaries enjoyed a pizza lunch with independent living residents and made prayer cards that will be distributed throughout the facility, which also includes assisted living and skilled nursing.

Gould said the program helped connect the parishes with St. Therese at St. Mary of the Woods and to expose the young people to service opportunities. The young missionaries also spent time serving at Birthright in Elyria, Honey From the Rock Foster Care Closet in Cleveland, St. Malachi Back Door Ministry in Cleveland and Friendship APL in Elyria.

The program changed participants, some of whom joined because they needed service hours or because they thought it would be fun, Gould said. “Those are perfectly good reasons, but the hope and the heart of the mission is that they leave with something greater: a deeper encounter with Christ, a love for serving others and the realization that they are called to be missionary disciples wherever God has placed them,” she added.  

Two of the missionaries echoed those thoughts.

Avery, a sixth grader from Avon Middle School, said she learned about the program from some friends at Holy Trinity. “It helps get me closer to Jesus and we had fun. The bonfire nights were really fun. I would definitely come back next summer,” she added.

“I love this program. It’s a great way to get closer to the Lord,” said Gabby, a sophomore at Avon High School. This was her second year in the program. She also was part of the “God Squad” youth ministry and Life Teen at Holy Trinity.

 The mission program was inspired by the lives of its patron saints, St. John Bosco and St. Katharine Drexel. St. John’s joyful spirit and dedication to young people remind us that holiness is contagious when lived with joy, Gould said, and St. Katharine devoted her life to serving the poor and marginalized across the country.

Applications for next year’s program will open on Jan. 31, 2027, the feast of St. John Bosco, and acceptance letters will be sent around the feast of St. Katharine Drexel, March 3, 2027.

For more information, contact Gould at dgould@avoncc.org.