Warming hearts and homes. “Mother” Lauren Stanley points to towering pile of cord wood. “This is what hope looks like on the reservation,” she asserted. She’s overseeing a production line of volunteers in Mission, South Dakota who are splitting and stacking the wood for distribution to families in all reaches of the Rosebud Reservation. It’s […]
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 […]
Lisa Godek and her 13-year-old daughter, Chloe Fargo, are committed to helping others outside of work and school respectively. Their latest service trip was a week on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. They lent a hand to the native Lakota people through everyday tasks and creating a children’s fair for the community. Here Lisa […]
“Out of the Indian approach to life there came a great freedom, an intense and absorbing respect for life, enriching faith in a Supreme Power, and principles of truth, honesty, generosity, equity, and brotherhood as a guide to mundane relations”. – Black Elk A nice cleansing rain delayed work to prepare and prime Chris’s house. […]
Monday, September 3: We Spread Out on Community Projects by Sarah A titch, a scoatch, a smidge, a squizzle. We all pitch in. Working hand-in-hand as volunteers on the Blackfeet Reservation. We started our week on the Memorial Day holiday – so many of the “standard” Global Volunteers project sites are closed for the day. […]
Rosebud Reservation volunteers share their team journal about Lakota culture on a South Dakota service program. Day Two in Rosebud – Yard Work After yesterday’s orientation, we arose today in anticipation of the work assignment. We headed out and gathered any tools we could find for the day ahead. We worked outside of a home […]
As a Montana volunteer, you serve and experience life on an American Indian reservation – the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Jimmy describes the projects he worked on as well as reflects on the journey he took while making the decision on whether or not to serve. With meaningful friendships and breathtaking views, it’s easy to see […]
Global Volunteers team members often have the opportunity to participate in a traditional Sweat Lodge ceremony. It’s a unique experience for most non-Indians, who may have only heard about this practice in cultural lore. Many volunteers try a few “rounds” inside the lodge around hot rocks that are doused with water while prayers and chants […]
Journal by Irene, Montana Blackfeet Reservation Volunteer. Today on the Blackfeet Reservation some volunteers started the morning with exercise, while others stayed back to shower and make lunches. Shortly thereafter, we headed out to the elementary school for the Carol White summer recreation program. Most of our volunteer team stayed there for the day, and a few others […]
by Barbara Gironda Marcel Proust said, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes.” I thought of these words often as I looked at the beautiful Montana Mountains. It has been 27 years since I ventured to Glacier National Park as a recent college graduate, eager to start […]