On July 15 Maria Maldonado (left), a sidewalk helper with St. Joseph’s Helpers in Little Rock, explains to Connelly Weeks of Our Lady of the Holy Souls in Little Rock, Carson Hoffmann of St. Anne in North Little Rock and chaperone Ann Vazquez of Blessed Sacrament Church in Jonesboro about her work helping women choose life over abortion.
Their visit outside the Little Rock abortion clinic was a part of their involvement in the Catholic Charities Summer Institute, known as C2SI, at St. John Center in Little Rock July 12-16.
Eighty high school students and chaperones learned about social issues such as immigration, incarceration, the elderly and abortion. One day the teens made peanut butter sandwiches for the homeless and visited areas in Little Rock where they formally or informally live and are served food.
“This week has been amazing,” said Kyle Thompson, a member of Our Lady of Fatima Church in Benton and a junior at Catholic High School in Little Rock.
Diocesan youth director Liz Tingquist said, “It never fails that each year we get many comments from the teens that their perspective on these issues has changed and that they want to be more sensitive to and more involved in seeking solutions to these issues in our communities. Many of the teens have gotten involved in prison ministry, caring for the homeless, advancing the needs of the immigrant and giving love and time to the elderly in their own communities.”
Faith and action
