Leadership, like sports, is learned through the doing of it.  And for nearly a dozen years, Casa Romero’s youth retreats have been supported by youth facilitators who have been apprenticed through our programs. 

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Now, after years of fine-tuning this model, we have launched our Youth Leadership Council (YLC).  Our professional staff will take one step back and empower eleven of our most experienced young leaders to  design the formation for our many IGNITE youth retreat facilitators. We are excited to see these YLC members step up to the challenge.  

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Their biggest initiative so far has been to lead a retreat that concerned a few of the social issues that the young people encounter pretty directly, either themselves or among their classmates – Hunger, Homelessness, Poverty and Immigration.  Unlike our Urban Plunge retreats that we lead for college students who have little experience of such issues, the participants of this retreat have all lived the experience from the inside.  Still, their generous hearts focused on insight from Catholic Social Teaching and how they are called to respond. 

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As we move forward with these budding leaders, we are grateful for the organizations that help fund our IGNITE and YLC programs:  Bader Philanthropies, Forest County Potawatomi Foundation, BVM Ministry Partnership Fund, Catholic Community Foundation, Catholic Campaign for Human Development and the Racine Dominican Mission Fund.