Fifty teens from St. Joseph Parish in Libertyville spent the week of July 8-12 serving others in the community through its annual SHINE (St. Joe’s Helping in Neighborhoods Everywhere) summer camp.

Participants began each day with Mass before heading to service sites. The group also took breaks for lunch and fellowship.

The teens began the week at Equestrian Connection in Lake Forest, where they painted fences lining the organization’s paddocks. Before painting, the teens toured the facility, meeting many of the 24 horses that are used in therapy to help people with various physical or mental needs.

Other days included volunteering at the Northern Illinois Food Bank, Feed My Starving Children and at an area PADS shelter. On Wednesday, the participants were also able to participate in the sacrament of reconciliation.

Cardinal Cupich surprised the group on July 11 with a visit to its volunteer site that day, St. Joseph Parish’s parish’s bed ministry. The ministry builds beds for children in need who do not have a proper place to sleep. The teens sanded, cut, drilled and built bed frames at a space the parish owns near the church, which also houses the parish’s food pantry.

Seventh graders Owen Dries, Caroline Hamner and Evelyn Stith all said that spending time with the children at the PADS shelter was the highlight of the week and that they enjoy serving others.

“I think it is important, because maybe some people weren’t born with what we have, so I think it’s nice to go and help people,” Hamner said.

Dries had similar feelings.

“We’re very fortunate to have all these things, and these people aren’t as fortunate as us, so it’s nice to give back to them who aren’t as fortunate,” Dries said.

Stith said she enjoyed her time volunteering.

“A lot of times, people will think that volunteering and helping our community is a lot of work and isn’t enjoyable, but just showing that we’ve done so much in one week and we’ve all had fun doing it — it’s really cool to see the impact that we’ve made in one week,” the seventh grader said.

This was the fourth year for SHINE, said Abby Daniels, the parish communications coordinator and leader of the week.

“The parish staff were looking for something to do over the summer that was a fun way for the teens to fulfill their service hour requirements and make it a way to show that service can be fun,” Daniel said.

Daniels encouraged other parishes or groups to coordinate service opportunities for teens.

“It is a lot of work and it’s certainly not easy, but it is one of the most rewarding things I get to do here in my role working on the staff of the parish to help bring these teens closer to Jesus,” Daniels said.

Father Jake Beltran, the parish’s new pastor, joined the teens during the week and said more should be done to engage youth in parishes.

“It was a very holistic approach, and really, I can see the bond that the teens forged together,” he said. “The cardinal mentioned it too, that anything that we do as an initiative for young people like SHINE should highly be encouraged. We’re building on what we already had in the past and making it much better.”