Dear Parents,
As you know, our
Confirmation Retreat is next weekend, Nov. 8-9. As we make our preparations for retreat, we find ourselves in need of some extra help! In order to ensure a safe and positive experience for the retreat attendees, we are seeking some parent chaperones to be present for some or all of the retreat.
Unfortunately, many of our amazing volunteers who help minister to our youth on Sunday nights at St. Patrick are not able be at the retreat next weekend, so we are humbly asking for your help to make this retreat a success. While we ultimately need chaperones to maintain a safe and structured retreat environment, we also believe this is a great opportunity for you to take part in your child’s Confirmation preparation!
There are a few ways you can assist us:
3-Hour Chaperone Shifts:
We have broken the retreat schedule into 3-hour chaperone shifts during the day on Saturday and Sunday. We could use 2 (or more) parents during these time slots to provide general supervision and help out with some occasional behind-the-scenes tasks as needed. All retreat activities will be led by us, so this is very low-pressure role. For a description of the retreat activities will be taking place during each time slot, click here:
Chaperone Shifts. You are welcome to sign up for more than one shift, if you’re available!
Overnight Chaperones:
We also need 3 men and 3 women to serve as overnight chaperones on Saturday night. This involves staying overnight in the cabins (which are more like lodge buildings with multiple bunk rooms inside). The cabins are single-gender and have twin-size beds. Chaperones sleep in a separate room that is reserved for the adults while still remaining in the same building as the youth for safety purposes.
Chaperone the Full Retreat or Serve as a Small Group Leader
If you’d be willing to chaperone for the whole retreat, please let us know by replying to this email. Similarly, if you’re interested in serving in a deeper way by being a small group leader for one of the boys or girls small groups throughout the retreat, please let us know- we would love some extra help with that, as well!
Please note that any adult who signs up to chaperone will need to pass a background check and complete online VIRTUS training. If you have already done that for another volunteer role at St. Patrick parish or school, you will not have to do it again, so as long as everything in our files is up to date. We’ll send you any necessary instructions or forms to be completed by Tuesday once we check your status.
Thank you in advance to everyone who helps meet this need- we are so grateful for your support! If you have any questions about this, please reply to this email and one of us will respond as soon as possible.
In Christ,
Marissa Dawson
Coordianator of Youth Discipleship
Samuel Ekblad
Associate Coordinator of Youth Discipleship