Kaylie Burns, AmeriCorps Promise Fellow, Prairie Seeds Academy
The service learning program at Prairie Seeds Academy is in full swing! Tuesday, October 12 found 50 kids and 15 adult volunteers packing meals at Feed My Starving Children in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. This year, the group of students is focusing on green concepts, zero-waste, and helping people through these ideas. Feed My Starving Children is fit very well with the groups goal this year, as it is focused on helping children in areas of the world where food and wealth are not as plentiful. The group saw FMSC an awesome opportunity to help children less fortunate than themselves and also think about how to remedy the waste that Americans create every day. Many of the students (and volunteers) were touched by the event. In her post field trip reflection, ninth grader Bao Vang said, “I really liked it because I got to be a part of something big. Everyone was kind and encouraging.” Ginseng Thao, also a ninth grader, wrote, “I loved it! I wish to go there again. I only wish that it lasted longer. I never worked so hard in my life before, so this was a very good thing for me.” Sandwiches and drinks donated by local Subway restaurants and picked up by trusty volunteers rounded out the day.
The effect of Feed My Starving Children’s message was not lost on any student, and many were grateful for the opportunity. Sixth grader Raymond Lee felt “good, and excited, because lots of food was able to be packed with everyone’s help.” The staff and volunteers at FSMC helped everyone feel valued and important to the final product and created a wonderful service-learning environment for the 120+ adults and children participating on Tuesday. Though not the first service-learning opportunity the students have had, it may have been the most effective. Martin DeLeon asserted, “Our cohort is helping the world. I love saving lives and helping the environment.”
**The service learning group at PSA is run by Promise Fellows Kaylie Burns (7th-9th grades) and Kati Lundell (5th-6th grades)**
