“Helping and giving service to people is something that I have always loved to do”, said Mr. Kyle Goldcamp, head of the Campus Ministry at Central Catholic High School.  In charge of several large service projects such as the Canned Food Drive and the Appalachia Immersion Trip, there seems to be no end to his compassion and love for the community.   He was first introduced to service at a young age through the morals he was taught in grade school, the way that he was raised at home, and through the teachings of the church.  In the eighth grade, Goldcamp needed to complete a certain amount of service hours in order to make his confirmation.  This was the first time that service had left a lasting impression on his character, leaving an attribute that has touched the lives of many people today.

These exposures to service are what led Goldcamp into eventually creating the Immersion Trip.  In high school, Goldcamp, Central Catholic class of 2004, participated in other service opportunities and began to love the act of helping others even more.  A few years after he graduated from Gannon University with a bachelor’s degree in biology, he was approached by former principal, Brother Bob Schaefer, and was offered a job in the Campus Ministry.  Goldcamp said that Brother Bob felt he would be beneficial to the program and would help many people in the need of service.  Beginning in the academic school year of 2014, Goldcamp has continued previous service projects as well as added on new ones, most notably the Appalachia Immersion Trip.

Webster Springs, a town in central West Virginia, is struck with poverty and the quality of life is poor for the people that live there.  For five days and nights, Goldcamp and the Campus Ministries of Central Catholic and Oakland Catholic go to Webster Springs to help the community in need of help.  Last year was the first time that this service opportunity occurred and it resulted in incredible success.  Over one hundred people, both students and parent chaperones, took place in this service project.  This year due to the extreme interest and popularity in the event, there is a limit of eighty students able to participate in the event.  On the day of departure, the students leave from the Oakland Catholic parking lot and begin the almost three and a half hour drive to Webster Springs.  Upon their arrival, they are split up into the groups that they are working with for the duration of the trip and then go to their respected housing for the five days.  The boys stay at a local Methodist church and the girls stay at a Baptist church, only a block away from each other.  Some of the tasks that are accomplished during the trip range from small projects such as painting and landscaping, to more serious ones such as house repairs, building decks and roofs, and other construction on a larger scale.

The immersion trip is a lot of work, on both the physical level and the mental level.  The strenuous work begins and eight o’clock in the morning and doesn’t end until four or five o’clock in the afternoon.  The long hours of physical labor is necessary to get all of the work done and is at times hard to fight through, but it is all worth it.  The community is thankful for all of the help they receive and affects their lives in an unforgettable way.  Goldcamp says in response to being asked how helping people makes him feel, “I’ve been blessed with so much in my life and I want to share it with as many people as possible”.  During the trip, two types of bonds are created that leaves a sense of accomplishment in those who participate.  Bonds between the students working together as well as the bonds between the students and the people of Webster Springs flourish in the five meaning days of service.  Goldcamp said that the entire experience is truly a life changing experience and Webster Springs will always be in the hearts of those at Central Catholic.