Community Partner since 1999.
Having wanted to join the Peace Corps when she was younger, as a retiree Chriss Hayden was still looking for a meaningful way to volunteer. She found serving on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana was the perfect way to immerse herself in a culture to be able to learn about it. Chriss prepared and served […]
New York mother and retail professional Tenley Zinke recalls her excitement of discovering new project opportunities each day as a Montana volunteer. A highlight: Getting to meet local people in their typical daily routines. Read on for her description of a day’s volunteering schedule in Montana. By Tenley Zinke Volunteering on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation […]
The Blackfeet Reservation Program in Montana was initiated in 1999 by Global Volunteers Co-Founder Michele Gran and Blackfeet elder Dorothy Still Smoking. 2021 marks the 22nd year of Global Volunteers’ partnership with the Blackfeet Nation. Because of the pandemic, we were unable to serve on the reservation during 2020. But now, our community partners on […]
From the De La Salle Blackfeet School in Browning, Montana on the Blackfeet Reservation, our community partner Brother Dale Mooney sends Christmas greetings, with a reference to the comfort we seek in times of trouble. In a community suffering so many losses in 2020, he offers a “song to sing in our hearts.” In these […]
We’re always grateful for volunteers’ emails and letters expressing sincere gratitude for the opportunity to authentically experience their host culture, and to serve those who live there. Some – as Tenley Zinke expresses here – gain life-changing perspectives. A mother of two daughters, Tenley said she learned about Native American tribes in third grade, and […]
American Indians historically suffered through epidemics brought by foreign invaders that, time after time, nearly extinguished them. So, the current pandemic is not as much an existential threat for the Blackfeet Nation, as another layer in the understory of chronic health concerns rooted in decades of deprivation. Strict quarantine regulations since March have greatly safeguarded […]
Ellen Shenkarow decided to spend her time in retirement helping where necessary through volunteer work. She volunteers with Catholic Social Services helping refugees and asylum seekers in Tucson, Arizona. This summer Ellen, a retired ESL teacher, wanted to spread the spirit of “doing good” with her family and teach her grandson what life is like […]
Food insecurity may sound like an issue for developing countries, but it actually affects most of the population on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana, especially seniors. This is the story of how Global Volunteers working alongside the community is fighting food insecurity and caring for seniors. Ensuring every household has enough to eat is an […]
Judy Marx, a three-time Global Volunteer alumna, said an ancient Judaism tradition, Tikkun Olam (Hebrew for “world repair”), propelled her search for international volunteer opportunities. The world is imperfect, the lesson teaches, but is in our own hands to make it better every day. Judy and her husband John said they’ve since discovered that volunteerism […]
Every Global Volunteer team keeps a daily journal of work projects, insights, and lessons to document their own experience in the partner community. In these team journal excerpts, volunteers describe the hand-in-hand effort to make a difference alongside local people on the Blackfeet Reservation of Montana. Monday, September 3: We Spread Out on Community […]
Global Volunteers 2020