The National Catholic Youth Conference is a powerful, biennial, three-day experience of prayer, community, and empowerment for Catholic teenagers in grades 9-12 and their adult chaperones. The program includes keynote presentations, prayer, workshops, Mass, and opportunities to participate in reconciliation and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, as well as recreational activities, concerts, and exhibits. A key component of NCYC is the thematic park which is a blend of traditional exhibit booths with interactive areas featuring service projects, games, recreation, live musical performances, arts, and sports. Every other year, the conference attracts over 20,000 participants from across the United States and hundreds of the country's best speakers and musicians. The conference culminates with mass, celebrated this year by Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras. This year's NCYC will be taking place in Indianapolis, Indiana from November 19-21.

St. Patrick's Church in Victor has a strong tradition of attending the National Conference and for the last two conferences, we've had the largest contingency in the diocese of Rochester. This year, we have 30 teens attending the conference, along with two young adults and a group of adult volunteers and have been preparing for the trip for the last year. When asked what they love about the conference, our teens will tell you about the excitement of meeting hundreds of new people from around the country, the inspirational speakers and workshops, and the unique experience of being surrounded by 20000 other teenagers who share and love the Catholic faith. As we go into the last few months before the conference, our only hurdle now is fundraising!

Our fundraising opportunities have started and there are loads of ways to get involved. One way to help is our Sponsor-a-Mile campaign. Adding all the costs together for everyone that will be going with us to Indianapolis and subtracting what we've already raised, we figured out that while we've come a HUGE distance, we have a ways to go still. What we're asking is for people who are able to is to Sponsor-a-Mile and help us on our way. With the costs we have left and the distance between Indy and Victor, it works out to be about $50 a mile. Any amount is appreciated, whether it be a half mile ($25) or ten ($500)! Below are some examples, but don't feel like you're limited to just those. All donations will help us on our way!! Thanks so much and God bless!