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Basildon Parish's Field of Dreams 2026 | Volunteer Story
Read below for an article written by Liz, one of our young adult volunteers, offering a reflection on her time volunteering in her parish in the Summer.
This August, I had the absolute joy of helping to lead Basildon parish’s second year of our youth summer programme, ‘Field of Dreams’!
Field of Dreams originally started in 2012 (with Caritas Brentwood’s own Fr Dominic, who was stationed as parish priest at the time) as a project aiming to give the young people of Basildon a brilliant summer holiday. It is inspired by the example of St John Bosco, from whose dream the programme gets its name. At its height, Field of Dreams served well over 100 children, supported by a few dozen young leaders.
After 7 years of the programme not running, Basildon parish has revived Field of Dreams and, in the process, formed Basildon Catholic Youth Ministry, running youth programmes for children and young people ranging from Year 4 to young adulthood.
This year’s Field of Dreams programme was vibrant, full of joy and friendship! We ran two weeks of the programme, the first for Year 6-8, the second for Year 4-5. A wide range of activities were on offer, not limited to Slime Making, Archery, a Bake Off competition, Basketball, Capture the Flag, Tie-Dye, Crochet, Drama, a Treasure Hunt and immersive Cluedo. We also were able to take our young people on trips to end our weeks with them, which were a great success!
One of my co-leaders said about the programme, that “Field of Dreams has been a wonderful opportunity to create memories, build friendships and watch the kids grow and have fun. I’m so grateful to have been a part of it.”
Another said, “It’s been such a fulfilling experience, I loved working together to create an unforgettable time for the children. From sports activities to creative ones, there was always something for everyone to enjoy (leaders too)!”
Please keep us in your prayers as we continue with another year of serving our young people, raising them up to be joyful and faithful members of the Church.
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