1.

Connections to Research Paper: How was my service learning connected to my passion paper
research?
I volunteered at Loaves and Fishes, which is an organization that serves food to people
who are food insecure in Minneapolis. My service was connected to my passion paper because
my papers topic was U.S. urban hunger, and the problem I was focusing on is the
inaccessibility of adequate food resources. Loaves and Fishes is helping to fight the problem by
providing free food that is located in an urban setting easily accessible to many. I also
volunteered by packing Hopekits, which is connected to my passion paper because the kits go
directly to people in the Twin Cities who are in need. For advocacy I emailed the governor of
Minnesota specifically about the lack of grocery stores and easily accessible and adequate food
resources in Minnesota. This was a main cause of hunger that I highlighted in my passion
paper, and I wanted to advocate for it because it is an issue that can be solved. I also presented
facts and ways to get involved to my church group, which informed them on my passion paper
topic. For education I took almost all my facts directly from my passion paper research and
tweeted them out to my followers on Twitter.

2. Planning for Action: How did I go about selecting activities for my service learning? What did
I learn about myself during the planning phase? How did I know that my actions would meet an
actual community need?
I wanted to select an activity in which I could have a direct interaction with people and
see the impact the organization was having on them. Through the service process I learned that
volunteering is really fun and you get to experience something you may not otherwise take part
in. I know that my actions helped the community because I helped an organization with jobs
such as tallying demographics and washing dishes so that other volunteers could focus on other
jobs and make sure the clients could get food. I was also able to experience the impact first
hand by serving water and coffee to people who would otherwise have to go without it. As well
as directly serving, I thought it would also be fun to serve indirectly, so I could have an
experience of both serving directly and indirectly. I volunteered indirectly by packing Hopekits
which are bags that include food, water, and socks for those who need it. Some of the bags
went to an organization for people in need. I also put two of the bags in my car for when I see
somebody outside who may need food or water. I knew packing Hopekits would help my
community because a woman spoke at my church about the impact the bags we were packing
would have on people.
For advocacy I wanted to inform people right here in my community and encourage them
to get involved, so I presented to my church group. I also wanted to reach out to people in the
government on actions they could take to solve the problem of food deserts in cities. I learned
that advocating for people is a great way to spread the word and it is a way to get people
involved in solving the issue. When I shared with my church group they expressed interest in my
topic and that showed that my advocacy was having a positive effect on people. I wanted to
educate people in a way in which I could be consistently putting out information to many people.
I went to a meeting during collab on how to effectively use Twitter and I believed Twitter would
be the best tool to use for education. I tweeted out facts, articles, and I also retweeted other
peoples tweets that I found informational. Through using Twitter as education, I learned how to
stick to a schedule and continuously put out information into the public.

3. Service Implementation: What was the duration and intensity of my service learning and in
what ways was the duration and intensity sufficient to facilitate some change or help others? What
challenges did I have to overcome to complete my actions?
I volunteered at two different places. I volunteered at Loaves and Fishes for 2.5 hours
and at Christ Presbyterian Church packing Hopekits for 1.5 hours. Volunteering at Loaves and
Fishes, a place the feeds people who are food insecure, was very much hands on and I did a
variety of jobs while I was volunteering there. Packing Hopekits was focused on one specific job
of creating bags for people in need. When I was packing Hopekits, I packed a total of about 7
bags that would be taken to people by an organization for the homeless. I know that 7 people
who are hungry or homeless will know have food, water, and socks. I was able to see people
directly being helped when I volunteered at Loaves and Fishes. I saw how happy the food made
those who were being served. Throughout the process of serving, I had to work on
communication skills by scheduling when I would volunteer which was very challenging because
my schedule is often busy. I also had to work on communicating with the people I was serving
and making sure they were getting the help they needed.

4. Reflection on Service: Which type of service learning (direct, indirect, education or advocacy)
had the biggest impact on others and why? What insights did I gain about my topic, people, or
your community during my service learning actions?
I think that direct service had the biggest impact on others because I could watch how
my service was directly affecting the people I was serving. I could tell that the people I was
serving really appreciated the volunteers. Most people who came to Loaves and Fishes would
have otherwise had to go without a meal and by volunteering I could help make sure they had
food to eat. Volunteering at Loaves and Fishes also had a large impact on me and I could see
the struggle many people have to go through on a daily basis. I also learned that most of the
people who came to Loaves and Fishes were above the age of 60, and it changed my
perspective on who I thought was dealing with food insecurity in Minneapolis.

5. Skills Acquired: How was my voice amplified during the action phase? In other words, how was
my voice heard during the planning and implementation phases of my action? What skills did I
gain by participating in service learning? How did I grow as a person as result of the service
learning? Consider your thoughts on the importance of service to the community.
When I started researching and planning for my passion project topic I wanted to focus
on hunger specifically in urban areas within the United States. Loaves and Fishes was located
in an urban area which enabled me to serve in area that supported my passion project topic. Im
not at a point where I can change hunger in my entire city, but I learned that there are many
ways to be involved right near my home. I found programs and resources where it is easy to
volunteer. I learned how change can be implemented through volunteering and how to help
people access resources specifically for food insecurity in my community.