2019 HAD Reflections:
From Christian Formation Director Sue: It is heartwarming to see how many teens have included Hands Across Duluth on their Confirmation Faith Boards these past few years as their favorite spiritual/service experience. Again this year we had an amazing week of service learning with 50 teens and adults. You can read some of the youth’s reflections below. We began with Lee Stuart, Director of CHUM engaging the teens in Walk a Mile in My Shoes: an afternoon of interactive activities that allowed the teens to take to heart real stories of homeless people in Duluth as they tried to fill out the paperwork that is needed, and shop for groceries for their family with limited funds. Thursday was spent working on several projects at the Loaves & Fishes homes and we crossed off many items from their to do list! Friday we focused on learning more about our indigenous neighbors by working in their gardens, hearing their life stories, eating traditional foods and attending the Veteran’s Pow Wow. Saturday Rev. Brad Hauff; the Presiding Bishop’s staff officer for Indigenous Ministries taught the teens more about indigenous history and the church’s role than they could have learned in school. Plus, we had many fun times on the water and playing gaga ball. HAD could not exist without all the help driving, hosting, chaperoning, cooking and assisting with the more complicated projects.
Teen Reflections on Hands Across Duluth:
While I was at Hands Across Duluth, I felt way healthier, and not only physically, but spiritually and mentally as well. I was especially moved when I saw the Pow Wow. Then when we were talking about racism, I felt remorseful and sorrowful at the same time. When we were helping at Loaves & Fishes, I felt sorry for those living there but I was glad we could help them. When we did the grocery shopping it made me realize what little they were able to get to eat. And even though it was so much work it was still fun, and an all-round good experience. --Evan
I really enjoyed participating in Hands Across Duluth. This year we were focused on really getting to know and love our neighbors. We weeded gardens, painted fences and mulched a playground for the people at Loaves & Fishes. We also learned how hard it is to be homeless from the people at CHUM as we filled out forms for housing and money and tried to buy meals with only thirty dollars. Working in many different groups allowed us to be more efficient as the week went on so that by Friday we were working together like a well-oiled machine. HAD isn’t all work though, we had lots of time for fun and games such as going to the beach and paddle boarding. My favorite activity was going to the Pow Wow on Friday. All in all, I “HAD” a really great time. --Gabe
My experience at HAD was fantastic, to be able to get out into the community, make new connections and learn is very important. Also making new friendships with Stillwater people, people on the reservation, and Loaves & Fishes is truly special. --Grace
I learned that there are more homeless/poor people in the community than I thought. HAD made me more aware of how I view homeless people. While working together I realized that to make things go faster or to have more fun doing the work, chat with the people you are working with--socialize! My favorite part of HAD was making new friends from Stillwater and making stronger bonds with the people I already knew. --Laurel
This year at Hands Across Duluth was another great experience. One of my favorite parts was going to work on the reservation in the garden. After a few hours of weeding and hauling loads of wood chips we had completely turned around the garden and it felt great knowing that we did substantial work. So many of the world’s problems seem too big to tackle but the work we did that week was a good reminder of the power in seemingly simple tasks or jobs and how much they can help someone else. --Luisa
HAD is a great opportunity to make new friends and help the community. I learned that we live on Native American land and I think we need to be more respectful to the land. I also learned that you can do more with more people. My favorite part was paddle-boarding. --Arna
HAD was very immersive and hands on in teaching what it is like to experience homelessness. We also had a great time helping Loaves and Fishes finish some of their projects. I learned that discrimination against Native Americans is still very prevalent in our society. It didn't really change the way I look at things it just reinforced my viewpoint. My favorite part was helping complete projects at different places and seeing the tremendous amount of help we were able to do for them because of how many people we had. --Atle
I had a good experience at HAD. It made me think differently about my neighbors because on the second day when we went to Loaves and Fishes, it was an eye opener. I had more insight about their situations, and it made me feel grateful for what I have. Doing a service project made me feel proud and happy that I was able to help people. The job was much more effective and fun to do with teamwork. My favorite part about HAD was the fun games and activities we got to do. --Alicia
Teen Reflections on Hands Across Duluth:
While I was at Hands Across Duluth, I felt way healthier, and not only physically, but spiritually and mentally as well. I was especially moved when I saw the Pow Wow. Then when we were talking about racism, I felt remorseful and sorrowful at the same time. When we were helping at Loaves & Fishes, I felt sorry for those living there but I was glad we could help them. When we did the grocery shopping it made me realize what little they were able to get to eat. And even though it was so much work it was still fun, and an all-round good experience. --Evan
I really enjoyed participating in Hands Across Duluth. This year we were focused on really getting to know and love our neighbors. We weeded gardens, painted fences and mulched a playground for the people at Loaves & Fishes. We also learned how hard it is to be homeless from the people at CHUM as we filled out forms for housing and money and tried to buy meals with only thirty dollars. Working in many different groups allowed us to be more efficient as the week went on so that by Friday we were working together like a well-oiled machine. HAD isn’t all work though, we had lots of time for fun and games such as going to the beach and paddle boarding. My favorite activity was going to the Pow Wow on Friday. All in all, I “HAD” a really great time. --Gabe
My experience at HAD was fantastic, to be able to get out into the community, make new connections and learn is very important. Also making new friendships with Stillwater people, people on the reservation, and Loaves & Fishes is truly special. --Grace
I learned that there are more homeless/poor people in the community than I thought. HAD made me more aware of how I view homeless people. While working together I realized that to make things go faster or to have more fun doing the work, chat with the people you are working with--socialize! My favorite part of HAD was making new friends from Stillwater and making stronger bonds with the people I already knew. --Laurel
This year at Hands Across Duluth was another great experience. One of my favorite parts was going to work on the reservation in the garden. After a few hours of weeding and hauling loads of wood chips we had completely turned around the garden and it felt great knowing that we did substantial work. So many of the world’s problems seem too big to tackle but the work we did that week was a good reminder of the power in seemingly simple tasks or jobs and how much they can help someone else. --Luisa
HAD is a great opportunity to make new friends and help the community. I learned that we live on Native American land and I think we need to be more respectful to the land. I also learned that you can do more with more people. My favorite part was paddle-boarding. --Arna
HAD was very immersive and hands on in teaching what it is like to experience homelessness. We also had a great time helping Loaves and Fishes finish some of their projects. I learned that discrimination against Native Americans is still very prevalent in our society. It didn't really change the way I look at things it just reinforced my viewpoint. My favorite part was helping complete projects at different places and seeing the tremendous amount of help we were able to do for them because of how many people we had. --Atle
I had a good experience at HAD. It made me think differently about my neighbors because on the second day when we went to Loaves and Fishes, it was an eye opener. I had more insight about their situations, and it made me feel grateful for what I have. Doing a service project made me feel proud and happy that I was able to help people. The job was much more effective and fun to do with teamwork. My favorite part about HAD was the fun games and activities we got to do. --Alicia
