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Spring Service Trip Takes Ramblers to L'Arche Chicago
Eight Loyola Academy students spent their spring break volunteering at L’Arche Chicago in Oak Park. Founded in the 1990s, L’Arche Chicago joins more than 146 other communities in 35 countries to form The International Federation of L’Arche. The communities encompass 5,000 people with and without an intellectual disability, speaking more than 20 languages who share their lives in homes, workshops and day programs.
Summer Service Coordinator Mr. Paul D. Leon lived in a L’Arche community in Syracuse, New York, for two years before moving to Chicago. “I’m happy to be sharing L’Arche with students at Loyola,” he says. Leon chaperoned the spring break trip along with Dance Teacher Deborah Henslee LdM ’75.
“L’Arche Chicago is special because you are able to share your gifts with others and create relationships within the community,” says Alejandra DeLeon ’19. “I enjoyed getting to know the core members and the assistants and learning about their stories.”
Students stayed in houses with the community members and shared the routines of daily life such as preparing meals and doing housework and yard work. “Mostly, however, we were there to learn from the community about compassion and mutuality,” explains Leon.
“Everybody always had a smile on their face and enjoyed themselves while making those around them much happier also,” remembers Luke Blockvich ’19. “The trip to L’Arche was very worthwhile, and I would definitely recommend it to others. It’s a very unique place.”
L’Arche communities seek to reveal the dignity of every human being by building a community of faith and belonging in family-style homes. To learn more about the work of L’Arche Chicago, visit https://www.larchechicago.org/.
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