You can give others the gift of assistance
Service Interns pack up donations (photo gallery by Frances Brown)
Over 37,000 pounds of food is needed to feed the Minneapolis homeless population over the Christmas holidays.
There are over 3,078 people in Minneapolis, Minnesota, without homes and without a sustainable source of food or income, and hundreds and possibly thousands of organizations help to get the homeless that food. However, without volunteers, these organizations cannot provide the homeless with what they need.
Many organizations help the needy. Union Gospel Mission is recommended by Jessa Anderson, Director of Core Formation Experiences. The Union Gospel Mission serves three meals a day to its residents and is always looking for volunteers of all ages.
“Volunteering is a really fun thing to do with your family or with your friends, and it always feels good. So I would encourage people to get out there. Don’t be scared to do something that maybe feels unfamiliar, but have fun, and you get to serve your community in the process.” Anderson said.
Minnehaha helps serve the community as well, such as clothing drives, gift drives, and others. This gift drive involves students helping children in need by purchasing gifts for them during the Christmas season.
“The service interns are … starting our annual holiday gift drive,” said Anderson.
Many students of Minnehaha choose to volunteer outside of school.
“I volunteer because it makes me feel like I contributed to something… and I enjoy the feeling you get after you volunteer,” first-year Immanuel Rowland says.
Community Emergency Services is another great place to volunteer at.
“Community Emergency Services is a food shelf that we just donated a whole bunch of canned goods to, and they’re always looking for volunteers to help with their food pantry,” said Jessa Anderson.
Don’t be scared of getting outside of your comfort zone. “Don’t be scared to do something that maybe feels unfamiliar, but have fun, and you get to serve your community in the process,” Anderson said.