Arlington Diocese WorkCamp is an annual youth ministry program culminating in a week-long overnight camp providing the teens of the Diocese with an opportunity to encounter Christ through service, faith, and fellowship. This program is administered by the Office of Youth, Campus, & Young Adult Ministries.
This service opportunity combines prayer, great speakers, daily Mass, confession, and tons of fun, making it an integrated experience of true Christian community and one of the most transformational opportunities of the year!
For questions, email Adult Volunteer WorkCamp coordinator Andy Newton at [email protected].
WORKCAMP 2025 IN REVIEW
Our 2025 WorkCamp Crew spent the week in Shenandoah County, VA. Tuesday night Bishop Burbidge came for adoration and confessions for all of WorkCamp and celebrated the Mass with all of us on Wednesday morning. Our students had a great time.
When students were asked why they loved WorkCamp, their reasons included: “Meeting new people!”, “We had a lot of fun. Our contractor was great!”, “You get enough service hours for all of high school!” and “Adoration and confession are built into the week. I had the Bishop for confession!”.
When we asked the adult volunteers if they would recommend WorkCamp to other adults, their responses included: “My first WorkCamp was transformative for my faith which is one of the reasons I keep coming back every year; that rejuvenation of my faith every time.” and “It’s amazing to see the kids in a different light as volunteers.”
MORE INFORMATION FOR NEW AND RETURNING STUDENTS AND ADULTS.
- Are you a high school student interested in WorkCamp? Click here.
- Are you an adult interested in WorkCamp? Click here.
- Calendar, click here.
- Sign up for Flocknote, our communication system, click here.
Follow us on our parish social media for the latest news and reminders in addition to signing up for Flocknote below to receive email and text reminders as well!
Calendar – Dates to Know
The Arlington Diocese prohibits the use of cell phones during youth ministry events. We ask that students leave their cell phones at home or place them in the cell phone box at sign in. Cell phones will be returned at the conclusion of the event.
| WorkCamp Calendar – To help coordinate our busy lives, this year we will be using Mobilizon.us for the WorkCamp calendar events. The WorkCamp calendar is online here. If you have a desktop calendaring app, you can click on this webcal link to automatically subscribe to the calendar. Or if your calendar app has an import-from-URL feature, you may subscribe to the calendar with this link, https://mobilizon.us/@saint_james_workcamp/feed/ics |
| Our first fundraising event is coming up on Jan31 / Feb 1. These fundraisers help to offset the cost of WorkCamp for the teens who participate.As we did last year, we will have a group baking event (in addition to any individually prepared baked goods). This is a great team-building experience in addition to real-world practical baking experience (don’t worry, we’ll get to the hammer and saw skills later in the year). Karen Bushw-Newton, Andy Newton’s wife, has volunteered to coordinate the bake sale this year. She has prepared a Signup Genius to solicit volunteers. Please sign-up as soon as possible. |
STUDENT PARTICIPANTS
- Register for Flocknote (Our system for Youth Ministry communications)
- Explanation of Commitments
- Registration Information
- Dates to Know
- Sample Daily Schedule for WorkCamp 2026
- Fundraising
Explanation of Commitments
- Teens must attend the entire week of camp.
- Teens are required to attend FOUR preparation meetings.
- Teens must participate in fundraising activities.
Registration Information – Registration closes February 16, 2026
Registration for WorkCamp is open to all high school teens currently in grades 9-12. WorkCamp will be held from June 20-26, 2026 in Shenandoah County, Virginia. Prior to registering, please be certain that your family is willing and able to meet the obligations of WorkCamp beginning now through the end of the camp in June 2026. This means that your child is expected to attend parish formation meetings, fundraising activities, and/or service opportunities leading up to WorkCamp and will strictly adhere to the Youth Participant Code of Conduct.
The cost per teen to attend WorkCamp is $600, but we plan to fundraise to offset this cost. Keep in mind that this is just the first step of the WorkCamp registration process and does not guarantee that your child will be able to attend WorkCamp. WorkCamp is a very popular program and will fill early. The best way to increase the possibility of your child attending is to register as soon as possible, to participate in the parish meetings and fundraisers, and to assist the parish in finding adult leaders and contractors. It may be a few months before we can confirm your child’s participation in the camp.
The steps to registers are as follows:
- Find or create your family in the Diocese portal ( CLICK_HERE ) and register your youth. All youth participants must be registered by a parent or guardian.
- Send a deposit check of $75 to the rectory: WorkCamp ℅ Saint James Catholic Church, 905 Park Ave, Falls Church, VA 22046. Please write “workcamp” in the memo field of the check.
- Send email to [email protected] letting us know you have completed the two steps above. Each year we have applicants who believe they are registered but are not, which can cause a teen to miss WorkCamp.
Fundraising
The cost last year was $550, but fundraising covers a large part of this. Each parent should plan to volunteer in some way such as helping with fundraising, spending one afternoon at camp as a security volunteer, being a crew leader, or helping in some other way. The deadline to register will be early February 2026.
ADULT VOLUNTEERS
- Register for Flocknote (Our system for Youth Ministry communications)
- Explanation of Volunteer Positions and Commitments
- Registration Information
- Adults and Virtus-Training
- Dates to Know
- Sample Daily Schedule for WorkCamp 2026
Explanation of Volunteer Positions and Commitments
We need to secure adult volunteers since the number of students is limited based on how many adults come.
- For every 1-5 girls, we need one adult female crew leader.
- For every 1-5 boys, we need one adult male crew leader.
- In addition, for every 1-5 teens, we need one contractor.
If you are 25 or older, please consider volunteering as a crew leader to join us for the week, or if you have basic home repair or building skills, please consider volunteering your time as a contractor (Monday-Thursday). Crew leaders must be VIRTUS trained. WorkCamp is a big commitment with tremendous personal and spiritual rewards. Please email Andy Newton at [email protected] to learn more and visit https://stjamescatholic.org/faith/workcamp/.
We will be posting the registration information and forms when available. Diocesan meetings for various adult positions, https://www.arlingtondiocese.org/youth-ministry/workcamp/meetings-training/.
- WorkCamp Contractors
- Contractors should have basic home repair or maintenance skills, be willing to help teach young people, and have a desire to help improve the lives of fellow Virginians. You do not need to be a professional contractor, but must be competent at the above skills.
- Contractors should have basic home repair or maintenance skills, be willing to help teach young people, and have a desire to help improve the lives of fellow Virginians. You do not need to be a professional contractor, but must be competent at the above skills.
- Adult Crew Leader
- Leaders should be excited to work with teens and are not afraid of hard work. They are not simply chaperones and are directly responsible for the safety and well-being of their crew at WorkCamp. They are also part of the teens’ formation process prior to WorkCamp and accompany them throughout the week on the job site, praying together, and leading them in team-building activities.
- Leaders should be excited to work with teens and are not afraid of hard work. They are not simply chaperones and are directly responsible for the safety and well-being of their crew at WorkCamp. They are also part of the teens’ formation process prior to WorkCamp and accompany them throughout the week on the job site, praying together, and leading them in team-building activities.
Registration Information
We will be posting the registration information and forms when available.
Adults and Virtus-Training
Youth Ministry needs adult volunteers for most activities who must be VIRTUS compliant and have completed a background check through the Arlington Diocese. Visit the Office of Child Protection website for more information on background checks, click here or contact [email protected].
FLOCKNOTE
High School Signup for Flocknote-Get the latest news and updates from Saint James Youth Ministry by signing up for Flocknote. You can receive email and text notices. Fill in the fields below and click ‘SIGN ME UP’.
High school students and parents, sign up below.