Every summer we host a Teen Service Experience called Hands Across Duluth. You can read teen reflections below and see examples of the service work they performed. This July they gave 540 hours of service!
Reflections from a few of the teens who attended our service learning experience July 16-18. My experience at Hands Across Duluth was amazing. I learned so many things like what human trafficking is and what an asylum seeker is. I learned so much more about immigration than I thought I knew. When we did the service work, like when my group made enchiladas and other food, and that could feed 800 people. Also when we went to the reservation garden, and we helped pick weeds, I felt so happy that I was able to help so many people. When we went to the Fond Du Lac museum, I learned that Land and Water was life. We also got to see some of the work that the Ojibwe made. After that, we helped pick weeds out of the garden, and we made a lot of progress, and then ate lunch. That day we also went to a lake and Nancy talked about her job, and then we went to a lake where wild rice grows. Overall, my experience was great, and I feel like I'm in a beloved community even more. I always believed in God and Jesus, and I knew they're always with me but now I feel more, churchy. Alicia
This was my second year attending HAD, and I have to say that the program has expanded greatly. When I first attended I was one of less than 20 kids and teens there. This year I arrived to find over 30 kids and teens all exited to do work in the community and have a good time. While I was there I helped with three main service projects, those being, building a compost bin for the Loaves and Fishes garden, helping weed the garden at the Fond Du Lac reservation and, helping out in the Bike Cave. All three projects were engaging and interesting and helped me learn a couple new things. Like some carpentry skills, identifying plants, and some basic bike repair skills. In summary I had a great time at this year’s HAD and plan to attend next year. Ben
Some of the things I learned at HAD were that there is still a lot of conflict between Native Americans, the government and companies today regarding their land. I also learned many interesting and inspiring things about Native American culture on our visit to the Fond du Lac Reservation. My HAD experience was overall very exciting and I can’t wait for the next one! Grace
This year at Hands across Duluth I saw God’s hands at work in the world. Even I tend to forget how much of an impact young people can have by volunteering for a day. Yet as day one came to a close, we had already built a compost bin, planted a roundabout in the neighborhood and helped clean the bike cave to get it ready to reopen. The next two days we got to see and hear what it is like to be a person to live without the privileges we often take for granted. One of the most rewarding parts of the experience for me was to be able to connect with another young person, Julius, who lives on the Fond du Lac Reservation. This year at HAD I was reminded of the power of genuine human connection. Luisa
A service project that I worked on was helping to renovate the bike cave. The bike cave is a bike shop where people who don’t have a bike can get one or have their bike fixed. This is really helpful for people who might want to get to work but don’t have a car to go there. This is how I helped the community during my time at HAD. Gabe
My favorite part of HAD was playing Gaga ball with the other kids. I also liked going swimming and paddle boarding. One service project I did was weed the garden at the Fond du Lac reservation. I think that helped because the gardeners were able to get more things done and get more food for the farmers market. Arna
My favorite part of Hands Across Duluth was how quickly our group came together to complete our projects. Our group almost immediately was very friendly and comfortable with each other, and joking around a lot. After touring the reservation I had a new outlook on what it's like to be there and really respected what they have up there in community and the natural beauty. Atle
My favorite part of the week was making bracelets. My words were “power of life”. I just thought making them was fun and it meant a lot to me. Evan E (teens thought about words that embodied their passions in life and stamped them on metal washers with leather bands) My favorite part of my HAD experience was when we were pulling weeds in the garden at the Fond du Lac Reservation. This was my favorite experience because while my group and I were pulling weeds we all had a very good conversation together making the time go faster, it also helped me get closer to the new people around me and make new friends. When we were done pulling weeds I looked at the progress we made and it made me learn what so many helping hands can do and how much it helped the people who worked there. Annie