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Nell Blodgett
El Salvador Trip
The summer before my senior year of high school, I travelled to the breathtakingly beautiful country of El Salvador. The trip lasted for two weeks and I stayed with a family on the countryside for 5 of those days. I did not know any Spanish while traveling throughout El Salvador, so that alone was a huge culture shock. The country is also still attempting to rebuild after the civil war there left majority of the population emotionally wounded and in severe poverty. I will never forget learning about such pain and agony from the most glorious individuals who welcomed me and the other members of my group with open arms. There are many issues still facing the country if El Salvador including extreme water pollution due to western mining companies adding cyanide to their main source of drinking water. I hope to one-day return to the first place I was able to step outside of my comfort zone so that I can further my knowledge and education of the life and culture there.
Dor0thy Day
I decided when I was younger that I wanted to find something other than church to practice my spirituality on Sundays. My family had always gone to church, but I felt that I could access that part of my life in a more meaningful way. I eventually joined a volunteer group that went to Dorothy Day Center to prepare and serve breakfast to the homeless community within the Twin Cities. The Dorothy Day Center became a place that felt like home to me and I learned a lot about the community I had grown up in that I never knew before. This experience sparked my love for volunteer work and I was able to better understand a community of people I had previously not taken enough time to get to know before I judged them. During the summer time, I also volunteered at the childcare program for overflow housing at the Dorothy Day Center, where I took care of the children in the program at while their families worked or got their lives situated within their temporary shelters.
Dorothy Day Website:
Open Arms
As a senior in high school, I joined a service-based class that gave me the opportunity to volunteer for Open Arms. This program cooks and delivers meals to individuals who are terminally or chronically ill and who are too sick to get their own food or even leave their homes. During my time at Open Arms, I got to know individuals during their most vulnerable states. I saw them fighting for their lives on a daily basis, greeting me with an abundance of gratitude and strength. I never understood how many things could be affected in your life when you are really sick until I worked for Open Arms. This program is innovative and empathetic to a community of people that often get left by the way side. I am very grateful for my time at Open Arms.
Open Arms Website:
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