From Hoboken to Appalachia: Local teen volunteers with poor families in West Virginia

From Hoboken to Appalachia
Local teen volunteers with poor families in West Virginia
by Violet Baron
Reporter Correspondent
Jun 15, 2014

APPALACHIA

HELPING OUT – Through her Loyola School’s Christian Service Program, Hoboken teen Hannah Valente traveled to Mount Hope, a small, struggling town in rural West Virginia, to work with underserved families...

...The Hoboken teen and several of her classmates at Loyola School, an independent high school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, stayed one night with the homeless residents at YSOP last year. The trip was arranged through their school’s Christian Service Program, a community service requirement of all students that includes optional day-long and week-long trips. The experience was powerful, and Valente had to hear more.

Another opportunity came when Valente learned about the Christian Service Program’s spring break trips, where students can live among underserved populations while participating in service projects to improve conditions in those areas...

... Valente was one of the first students to sign up for the school’s trip this March to Mount Hope, a small, struggling town in rural West Virginia. She was also one of the youngest – Loyola School’s juniors and seniors are usually the ones who take these longer trips, but Valente was eager to take it on and learn about rural poverty after her time with the urban poor close to home....

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