Charity Works:
Carrying the New Church Mission
Into Service in El Salvador
Established in 2013 in an ongoing attempt to engage young adults with the Church,
the Charity Works grant program provides necessary funding for those looking to
kick start service-related projects related to the New Church concept of charity and
use.
Charity Works has helped eight young adults to date move their ideas from concept
to reality, and has helped projects occur locally, and as far away as Ghana and
Australia.
Tara Dugan (Academy of the New Church Girls School ’16) planned to join Habitat
for Humanity for nine days in El Salvador last summer. She raised some of the
program fee on her own, and a bump in support from the Charity Works program
helped her finalize her plans and make the trip possible. Tara spent her time helping
to lead a team building houses for the poor. She also gained new perspective on why
she wanted to go to another country and offer her efforts to a community where she
had no connection.
Following are excerpts of Tara’s before and after thoughts on why she went, what she
accomplished, and how Charity Works was able to lend a helping hand in making
her dream of service materialize.
By Tara Dugan
B
efore coming to the Academy Girls School, I attended Center School, a
small private institution in Abington, Pennsylvania. During my time
there, I was president of the Rotary Club affiliate for two years. The club
focused on service, which I love – and I loved leading it. I enjoyed my time at
Center School because of the many fund-raising and volunteer events, such as
preparing meals for my church and even babysitting.
At ANC, I was a part of Delta Mu, the community service club. I helped
fix camps for underprivileged kids, buy and package presents for children with
an incarcerated parent, clean highways, and much more. Delta Mu made my
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