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Students thrive at ‘Pay it Forward’ One Breckenridge student who recently returned from a week-long service trip to Chicago called the event an "experience of a lifetime." Mary Wermerskirchen, a high school junior, said volunteer work gave her a good feeling inside. "They made us feel like every one of us could make a difference," she said. Wermerskirchen was one of about 18 students that loaded onto buses last week for Pay It Forward, a five-day event that has teens perform volunteer work in several cities across the nation. Organized by the Minneapolis-based nonprofit Students Today Leaders Forever (STLF), students loaded on buses June 17 and picked up several others along the way, stopping in Moorhead and Minneapolis. While a few students said socializing was the best part of the trip, they felt a stronger impact when they helped others. In Minneapolis, students filled bags of food with rice, chicken and soy for Feed My Starving Children, a Christian nonprofit that ships meals to more than 60 countries in the world. "They said we saved 44 lives - when you hear the numbers, it makes you feel like you can do something," said Wermerskirchen. When they visited a nursing home in Rockford, Ill., Laurie Drewlow was concerned her students might be a little uncomfortable. But Drewlow, a language arts teacher who accompanied the group, said it turned out fine. "After a two-hour visit, some of the kids thought it was their best activity," she said. "I believe [the trip] did what it was going to do. Because I work with high school kids all of the time, and I know what good problem-solvers they are and what compassion they have for other people, I was not surprised." Other trip activities, such as landscape work and flower planting around a few Habitat for Humanity homes, gave students a chance to learn news skills. "I was with a group of girls and we were putting sheet rock on the ceiling," said Stephanie Erlandson, a recent graduate. "It was kind of fun." Although some moments were tough - according to Drewlow, everyone struggled in the severe heat and humidity while cutting brush in Chicago - many were inspired to continue volunteer work at home and abroad. Grant Hillestad, a recent graduate, said he intends help initiate an STLF chapter at University of Mary, Bismarck, when he attends college this fall. "Every little thing you do has a greater effect," he said, referring to the trip's overall lesson. "Going to a nursing home and visiting the elderly... for some of them, it just brightened their day. Just one little thing like that." Erlandson believes many students who attended the trip returned with a more ambitious attitude to help others. "Hopefully, it will make an impact on our community," she said. "I think it will." |
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