The Reflective Woman Experience

Community Work and Learning partnered with 14 The Reflective Woman classes this fall, doing class presentations and facilitating community experiences.  Students engaged in social justice discussions and were then able to apply their learning about community engagement by participating as a class at a nonprofit organization.  Below are just a few examples:

Second Harvest Heartland

On November 29, Kristin Chalberg’s class went to Second Harvest Heartland in Northeast Minneapolis. Second Harvest is a food bank supplying food to multiple organizations in an effort to distribute food across 59 counties in Minnesota. The students were given an overview of the organization as well as educated on the issue of poverty and hunger. After a tour of the facility, students worked on rice bags to be sent to food shelves.

Alley Shoppe

Students from Mary Carlson's class visited The Alley Shoppe on December 3. The Alley Shoppe provides clothing, household items, and basic necessities for residents in Ramsey County. The students were welcomed by Pam Weihe, Volunteer Coordinator, and oriented to the work of The Alley Shoppe, at Arlington Hills Lutheran Church on St. Paul's East Side. Students prepared holiday gifts, created hygiene kits and organized clothing.

Cedar Riverside Neighborhood

As part of Deborah Churchill and Elizabeth Fontaine’s classes, students spent Wednesday, December 7 at several organizations in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood where the Minneapolis campus is located. In groups of  8-15, students walked to work on a wide variety of projects at African Development Center, Mixed Blood Theater, Brian Coyle Center, Korean Service Center, CommonBond Seward Tower, West Bank Community Coalition and People’s, Inc.
Next semester students will continue their work at
Cedar Riverside organizations.