Volunteering from a distance
Health officials are not wrong that one of the best things you can do right now for both yourself and others is to simply stay at home and distance yourself. However, with so many communities struggling with finances and health, just a little bit of service can greatly impact someone in need by providing them with necessities or even just promoting positivity. Students at Minnehaha have been getting themselves involved in a variety of different projects.
Senior Avery Lehr and sophomore Will Lehr organized a food drive for the residents of their high rise in Saint Paul, and donated more than 500 pounds of food to the Hallie Q. Brown Food Shelf.
Senior Abbi Slininger made encouraging posters for hospice patients with her family. Additionally, she made cards for seniors and children with cancer.
Cultural Immersion Director Jessa Anderson, who advises the service interns and organizes the Cultural Field Experience program, which was scheduled for March but cancelled because of coronavirus, thinks that while the world might be virtually shut down, now is more than ever an important time to volunteer or contribute services.
She also believes helping people in need right now is not only beneficial to the persons receiving the help, but also to the volunteers themselves.
“I think that just showing people kindness helps to realign our perspective and helps us to focus on things that are happening outside of our bubbles,” she said, “because it can be really easy to focus on ourselves during this time.”
Few people are innocent when it comes to stockpiling food, toilet paper and isopropyl alcohol. So, if you see your pantry bursting at its seams, remind yourself that food doesn’t generate any interest sitting there, and that your donation of any kind could make a huge difference.