Agape - About & History

The Agape Service Project is a Christ-centered service program that empowers middle and high school students to enter into direct, mutually beneficial relationships with the migrant farmworker community in Whatcom County. Among other things, these students run a weekly food bank for farmworker families and provide enrichment activities for the children, while learning about Catholic social teaching and living in intentional community with their peers. The project additionally empowers Catholic college students to be servant leaders, which cements their position as missionary disciples in the Church.

Despite being skilled and essential workers who touch all of our lives, farmworkers often are underpaid, living and working in unsafe conditions, and face many barriers to receive services. Agape Service Project strives to respond to these physical needs of farmworker families — combating hunger, increasing access to health and human services, and providing enrichment for children. In all we do, we aim to build personal relationships with those we encounter. Our history of serving and knowing these families has led to Agape being a trusted program.

Since 2004, Agape Service Project has operated a unique approach to faith-filled services as we serve three very different groups of people under one mission:

• Farmworker community of Whatcom County: Our ultimate goal is to build personal relationships with these families. Our relational social services include a weekly food bank, increased access to health and human services, providing educational and recreational activities for children of farmworkers, college scholarships for farmworkers pursing higher education and supporting just farms with volunteer labor. Learn more about our services.
• Middle and high school youth: Throughout the summer, we operate weeklong service-learning experiences for parish and school groups. We facilitate an immersive education program where they learn about human dignity, injustices migrant farmworkers face and why and how we as Catholics are called to serve. Our goal is that the youth leave our program more equipped to be change-makers in society, more grounded in their faith and ready to see and serve Christ in every person they meet.
• Catholic young adults: Every summer, we hire five college young adults who demonstrate servant leadership skills, are on fire for their faith and have a deep calling for social justice. Our staff go through an extensive formation period on missionary discipleship, Catholic social teaching, leadership development and best practices for youth ministry. Then they put it into action through a summer of prayerful sacrificial love, working for the common good and leading young people. Many of our former staff have moved on to lay ministry and social work because of their formation experiences with Agape, which have helped them come alive in their faith and find a lifelong home in our Church and their faith lives.