Youth Service Project A Success at DeBenedetti Park

   For the joint Young Women/Young Men activity this month, Bishop Holden contacted the City of Lodi’s Parks Department, indicating our desire to do a park cleanup project. The original plan was to clean at Lodi Lake.  The Parks Department was surprised and impressed at the willingness to help and mentioned that DeBenedetti Park was in more need of their service. DeBenedetti is mostly used for soccer games, but with Covid-19 having shut down the soccer programs, the fields have been a bit neglected.

    The Young Men and Women with their leaders met at 9 am, opened with a prayer, grabbed a donut and a water bottle and paired up. Armed with gloves, trash bags and trash pickers from Bishop’s truck, they spread out.

   One of their most interesting find was a snake carcass, but mostly they found bag after bag filled up with food containers and cigarette butts.

   The weather was perfect with a slight breeze to keep them cool. Young Women's secretary Kaela Burke commented, "It was impressive how many kids willing showed up at 9 am on a Saturday morning and how hard they worked to beautify our town. It’s hard not to feel close to our Heavenly Father while giving service with happy faces."