Youth Volunteer of the Year Award Nominations

Youth Volunteer of the Year Award Nominations are due June 1, 2010.

The Youth Volunteer of the Year Award is an honor presented by Catholic Aid Association to recognize a young adult, between ages 16-30, within the Catholic Aid Association who, through example and accomplishment, provided outstanding volunteer service to his or her community and/or council during the past year. Please contact Heather Vargo for more information or to receive a nomination form.

Click here for a nomination form. (Please note: This link takes you to issuu.com)

Who Reigns? Christ Reigns at NCYC 2009

There’s a palpable energy when a sports team fills its arena to capacity, but when it’s God who’s drawing the crowds, Catholic Aid members who attended the National Catholic Youth Conference will tell you it’s a whole new ballgame.

The experience of singing and celebrating the Lord among 21,000 other proud, young Catholics was a singular opportunity that youth members of the Catholic Aid Association took part in Nov. 19 – 21 at the 9th Biennial National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) in Kansas City, Mo.

The theme of this year’s conference was the ways in which Christ reigns this world: in, among, and through us. Each session explored aspects of this theme while workshops helped participants explore the concept further between sessions.

“NCYC changes lives,” wrote David Bursack of Canby, Minn. “No different with me. On this trip I came closer to God just knowing I can pray and be religious around these people freely…The effect on my life is that I will be willing to show my faith around my friends and if they look at me differently, I now know that at least 25,000 other people have my own same beliefs!”

Catholic Aid’s Fraternal Youth Liaison Heather Vargo and Fraternal Director Kathleen Moriarty worked through 2009 to make these scholarships a fraternal benefit available to eligible members.

“Like World Youth Day, we felt this was a unique opportunity for our young members to get out and meet others like them,” Moriarty says. “You can’t practice your faith in a vacuum, so we wanted to provide chances for our young Catholics to see they’re not alone out there.”

The National Catholic Youth Conference is orchestrated by the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM) and according to that body, the conference is the single largest gathering of Catholic young people in the United States.


With special emphasis on the general sessions that addressed the entire multitude, the conference ran for three days. Between the general sessions, the participants broke out into group leader briefings, daily liturgies, concurrent sessions and workshops. Between sessions and workshops, youth could attend Eucharistic Adoration, the thematic park, confession or just hang out with other young Catholics from around the country.

Shawn Polman of Cottonwood, Minn., says, “I realized that when I go home, I know there is that girl way over in California that is praying to the same God…After NCYC, I will know that the Catholic Church isn’t just here in Minnesota, but all over the U.S. and the world too…When I face an obstacle, it will give me the strength that I am not alone. God is with me.”

In addition to the sessions and breakouts, hundreds of displays, interactive and experiential exhibits populated the “Reign Forest” thematic park in the Kansas City Conference Center. Youth were able to talk with Catholic colleges and universities, learn about service projects, play games, check out the technology lounge and learn about vocations. The Reign Forest was open prior to and throughout the conference, but even with three days to work with, pilgrims had difficulty making it to all the booths in the 200,000-square-foot space.

The general sessions were held in the cavernous and state-of-the-art Sprint Center and filled every seat with more than 21,000 exuberant youth spilling into overflow seating. Following the general sessions, a mass exodus of youth poured out of the Sprint Center, engulfing entire streets in downtown Kansas City.

The number of participants and their enthusiasm left a lasting impression on the 17 scholarship winners from Catholic Aid.

Andrea Mayer of Stacyville, Iowa, wrote, “They helped me understand better what it means to be Catholic. They all knew we were there to strengthen our faith and that made it so much fun, that they all wanted to be there and explore their faith.”

The Catholic Aid participants are already looking forward to NCYC 2011 in Indianapolis and until then, they’ll try to hold on to that feeling of community and kinship they described, and the pride they felt among the multitude.

“The most memorable moment was when everyone left the general session and walked together while praising God,” Rachel Kollar of Canby, Minn., says.

“It had a huge impact on me, personally, to be among so many youth open to praising Him for everyone to see. It opened my eyes to see that it’s okay to let your faith show in all aspects of life, not just while at church.”

Copyright 2010 Catholic Aid Association. Content and photos in this story may not be republished in any medium without the express, written consent of Catholic Aid Association.

Scholarships for World Youth Day 2011!

Catholic Aid will be offering scholarships for World Youth Day 2011!

Catholic Aid Association encourages young people in their Catholic spirituality and volunteerism. World Youth Day encourages these same values. Since groups are already forming for World Youth Day 2011, Catholic Aid wanted to announce that there will be 60 scholarships in the amount of $500.00 each for pilgrims. The scholarship recipients will be chosen randomly in a lottery style drawing. All Catholic Aid young people are encouraged to apply for this scholarship between now and November 2010. Please email Heather Vargo at hvargo@catholicaid.org if you would like a copy of the application and guidelines for this scholarship.

Catholic Aid is pleased to offer this benefit to our members. Please feel free to contact Heather Vargo if you have any questions about this scholarship opportunity. You can reach Heather by email at hvargo@catholicaid.org or by phone at 1.800.568.6670 ext 187.

Event: College Information Session

Meet other college students who are going to college for the first time! We’ll take a look at the basics of what to expect when you are going away to college. College students will be at the session to answer your questions and offer advice to first time students.

The workshop will address the following questions:

:: What Can I Expect the First Year? ::
How Will the Relationships With My Parents and Friends Change?
Lisa Schulte, Assistant Director of Housing Programs at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

:: Who Am I and What Do I Believe? ::
Building a Catholic Identity.
Fr. Tim Biren, Director of the St. Thomas More Newman Center at Minnesota State University - Mankato

:: Who will I Surround Myself With? ::
Surrounding Yourself with Good Friends and Connecting with Other Catholics.
Father Peter Williams, Pastor of Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Vocation Director

:: Student Panel on the Practics ::
Important Advice from Other College Students!

$10 registration includes materials and lunch, payable to Catholic Aid Association. Online registration available June 15 at www.catholicaid.org.

Date: Saturday, August 8, 2009
Time: 8:45am - 12:00pm
Location: The University of St. Thomas
Street: 2115 Summit Avenue
City/Town: Saint Paul, MN

More Information About the Young Adult Advisory Team

The Young Adult Advisory Team will consist of young adults and youth ministers who will help Catholic Aid on their youth/young adult initiatives. Catholic Aid has realized that we need youth and young adults to be active participants in the initiatives. We need your help!

There will be a stipend for those who are on the committees (One committee will be in St. Cloud, one in St. Paul). We haven't determined the amount yet, but think that the stipend would be helpful for young adults in college.

Some of the topics we would like to discuss in the young adult advisory are:

Who is CAA and Why Have This Panel?
What does CAA Offer Youth and Young Adults Currently?
What can CAA Offer Youth and Young Adults in the Future?
Explore the Possibility of Social Networking/Volunteer Events?
Explore the Possibility of a Leadership Speaker Series.
Explore the Possibilities of our Scholarship Program
Explore the Ideas for the Annual Convention: How to Get Youth & Young Adults Involved in Convention?
Once a Year We Would Have a Fun Event and a Volunteer Event.

Heather Vargo, Youth Fraternal Liaison, is hoping that the Young Adult Advisory Team will help Catholic Aid better engage youth and young adults in the organization and in their spiritual lives. Also, she hopes that Catholic Aid can offer more volunteer opportunities for youth and young adults (perhaps offer regional service projects).

If you are interested in participating in the Young Adult Advisory Panel, please email Heather Vargo at hvargo@catholicaid.org.

NCCYM: National Conference on Catholic Youth Ministry

I just spent the last week and a half in Cleveland, OH. I was there for Thanksgiving with my family, I was also there for the The National Conference on Catholic Youth Ministry (NCCYM). The conference is the largest adult conference for Catholic youth ministers in the country; this year was almost 2500 participants. The next conference is in New Orleans in 2010. Here's a couple pictures from Cleveland. See more pictures on Facebook.

Winona Diocesan Catholic Youth Conference

The Winona Diocesan Catholic Youth Conference (DCYC) took place November 22-23, 2008 at the Holiday Inn, Mankato, Minn. The gathering had over 370 youth and youth leaders from throughout the Winona Diocese. Catholic Aid was glad to partner with the Winona Diocese on this wonderful event.

While at DCYC, Catholic Aid lead a workshop for teens titled, "Survival Guide: Your Cash, Your Credit."

Catholic Aid supported the Kids Against Hunger Service project where 10,000 meals were bagged.

Over forty Thanksgiving Day Baskets were created and distributed to needy families in the Mankato area. The home office of Catholic Aid, along with parishes in the Winona Diocese collected canned goods for this service project.

Click here to see more pictures from this event.