Over 100 teens from across the country will participate in a week-long Catholic HEART Workcamp (CHWC) July 18-22. The participants will be housed at Gulf Breeze Middle School and St. Ann Catholic Church in Gulf Breeze, FL.
Julie Baltz and Courtney Fell, co-managers of the camp, are both native to Gulf Breeze. They dreamt of a bringing the program to the area simply because they saw a need. The process of getting approval began in the fall of 2013.
Courtney Fell says, “We just loved the idea of mission work in a camp setting while having fun with peers. The kids benefit, the community benefits – it’s a win-win!â€
CHWC has partnered with Pensacola Habitat for Humanity to assist in their Brownsville and Westside Garden District areas Neighborhood Revitalization work. Both communities are located within an established Community Redevelopment Area (CRA), which are special taxing districts that must meet statutory criteria for blight and the need of economic development. The teens will be divided into work teams and will complete projects that include painting, making simple repairs and landscaping. They are set to work on over 25 homes in the Brownsville area.
Several more teams of teens will assist the City of Pensacola with summer camps at both Fricker Center and Woodland Heights Resource Centers. There will also be teams serving Loaves and Fishes, Manna Food Bank and Ebonwood Community Center.
For more information or to schedule media interviews about the upcoming CHWC in Pensacola, please contact Courtney Fell at 850-261- 5032 or CHWCPensacola@gmail.com.
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Catholic HEART Workcamp started 23 years ago in Orlando, Florida. Since 1993, the program has grown to include more than 13,000 campers in 50 cities across the U.S. and multiple international camps. This will be the first year Pensacola offers a camp. For more information about CHWC, please visit their website.