Mahoning Valley Ulster project needs host families

June 8, 2013 at 12:07a.m.

By kalea hall

Canfield

In 20 days, Jordan Campanelli will have another “best month of her life” when her family once again hosts a teenager from Northern Ireland through the Mahoning Valley Ulster Project.

With 12 teenagers arriving and still needing some host families to take them in, this year — and for years to come — the project is looking to get more families interested.

“My wife and I found it’s a great project because our kids have grown tremendously from it,” said Keith Campanelli, co-director of the Mahoning Valley Ulster Project.

The national project began in 1973 when an Irish Anglican priest came to the states and noticed how “the freedom and ecumenical spirit of the American society” positively affected his children, according to the project’s website.

Northern Ireland’s religious battle between Protestants and Catholics has caused tension even among the teenagers in Northern Ireland. Oftentimes, a Catholic teen can not befriend a Protestant. The priest formed the project to help “ease the tensions” in Northern Ireland. There are now 28 communities around the nation that participate in the Ulster Project, including the one in the Mahoning Valley.

“It’s a peace project,” Keith Campanelli said. “It teaches them that we are all just human beings.”

In 2010 and 2012, Keith and his family opened doors to the Northern Ireland teenagers, and each time, the teenagers become another son or daughter of his. Through the project, the host families and the teens visit area attractions and work on multiple service projects, from helping out at Habitat for Humanity to planting flowers for the Jubilee Gardens Project.

Both the American and Northern Ireland teens build relationships through the “spiritual, social and service activities,” according to the Keith.

“Every day is a new adventure, and you don’t even feel like you are doing a service project,” Jordan said.

Fundraisers such as pub crawls help cover the cost of flying the teenagers to the U.S. and all of the activities they partake in while they are here. The host families provide meals and transportation to the teens as they learn with their American counterparts how their cultures differ.

“Kids realized they don’t care if you are Catholic or Protestant,” Keith said. “[They learn] we are all created equal.”

For more information about becoming a host or donating to the Mahoning Valley Ulster Project, go to ulsterprojectmv.com.