Interchange Food Pantry

Thank you St. Francis High School DECA for hosting a Trick-Or-Can Drive for us! Our guests were very grateful for your donation!

IFP is held together by its vast network of supporters, from volunteers to donors and beyond. Last week, we were thrilled to celebrate one of these invaluable supporters: Patty! From her first day volunteering in April of 2023 to the end of the year, Patty volunteered 243 hours. Counting all the work she's done in 2024, that number is nearing 300. Patty has been a joy to have as a regular face at the pantry, helping our busiest days run seamlessly and brightening the mood of everyone she talks to. Patty's workplace, Kohl's, introduced her to IFP through their employee volunteer opportunities. Through these opportunities, Kohl's fosters community service and generosity in its employee base. This effect is evident in the dedication of Patty and her fellow Kohl's volunteers, who IFP is fortunate to have on board.

The support of Kohl's, Patty, and all our other volunteers is what keeps IFP going. Thank you ♥

Volunteer Spotlight - Judy 🎉

Today, we want to wish Judy a very happy 85th birthday! Since 2009, Judy has been a dedicated volunteer at IFP. We are immensely thankful for her support of our mission and for being such a source of joy at the pantry. As the years have gone by, she's remained committed, happy, and full of spirit. When talking about why she's chosen to continue volunteering at IFP, Judy said, "You're never too old to volunteer!"

Thank you to the wonderful group of University School of Milwaukee students who volunteered at Interchange this morning! The group shopped for our guest's groceries.

The University School of Milwaukee community has consistently supported Interchange, with its students, staff, alumni, and families volunteering their time to help us at various events. We couldn't be more thankful for all the ways that the USM community has contributed to IFP♥

Volunteer Spotlight - Lowcountry Milwaukee

This Tuesday, a team of four employees from Lowcountry Milwaukee braved the below-freezing temperatures to volunteer at Interchange. As a local business and close neighbors to us, they wanted to put their teamwork towards helping our guests. The team volunteered during our pantry’s open hours, greeting guests and helping with their groceries. During downtime, they also helped with pantry set-up tasks.

Mindy, the general manager, shared specifically why she wanted to volunteer with her employees. “A lot of my employees are younger and I wanted to give them the opportunity to see how important it is to give back. We have a really tight-knit team, we have employee get-togethers a lot, and I wanted us try something new that will help our community!”

Mindy continued, “As a manager, it’s important to get out and give back to the community my business is in. We should be taking care of everyone, not just the people who come to our restaurant.”

Thank you to Lowcountry Milwaukee for choosing to volunteer with us to support Milwaukee families!

Patty began volunteering at Interchange in April. She found our volunteer opportunities through her workplace’s employee volunteer opportunities and has since become one of our most committed volunteers.

“I like helping people. It gives me a feeling of accomplishment,” Patty shared about why she chose to volunteer at Interchange. “I come back for the people! The other volunteers, the staff, the guests. I laugh so much here, it’s good for my soul. I’ve made friendships here,” Patty said about the Interchange community.

While volunteering, she helps with shopping for guests. Patty organized a new system for guest shopping days on Wednesday and Saturday, making the pantry run smoother. “It’s important to give back because one day you might be in that boat, and you would hope there are people there to help you.”

“I absolutely would encourage others to volunteer at Interchange. I have in the past, and will continue to do so. Its the first place I recommend to people!”

"The food I receive is nourishing, it's nutritious" – Nickie.

Please donate to the Interchange Food Pantry to provide our guests with quality and culturally specific fruits and vegetables throughout the year.

This year, our three Milwaukee food pantries will serve over 80,000 guests, a 43% increase from the previous year's 55,759 guests.

Feeding more guests meant spending more on food purchases, mainly fresh fruits or vegetables and lean meats. This year, our food cost rose by $34,478 over last year.

"My favorite foods I receive are the fresh fruits and vegetables. I enjoy the quality of the produce" -Kim.

We need your support to continue to serve our guests quality fruits and vegetables; please consider donating today!

Our guests should have access to the same nutritious foods middle-class American families eat. By ensuring our guests have regular access to balanced, nutrient-dense foods, we aim to alleviate the stresses of food insecurity and improve health in our community.

"The food is healthy and nourishing, not just a bunch of canned stuff" - Monty.

The majority of our guests live in Milwaukee's food deserts, 82% of our guests are Black and socioeconomically disadvantaged, and children make up 48% of our guests.

Interchange Food Pantry Mission:

Our mission is to reduce hunger for Milwaukee’s socially disadvantaged and food-insecure individuals by increasing their access to healthy foods.

Locations:

IFP recognizes that food distribution is inequitable and has three Milwaukee pantries. Our primary site is in downtown Milwaukee, and our two satellite pantries are in the city's two poorest zip codes: 53206 and 53233.

Programs:

The IFP's top priority is the Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program, which will provide every guest at least six servings of culturally appropriate fresh fruits and vegetables per visit. This gives our guests an additional 144 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables annually.

IFP's commitment to serving guests fresh fruits and vegetables is unique among food pantries. Most food pantries rely solely on donations from food banks, grocery stores, or food drives. When donated produce isn't available, is of poor quality, or lacks culturally specific staple foods, IFP purchases fresh fruits and vegetables from wholesale produce companies. This ensures our guests have reliable access to fresh produce all year round.

https://gofund.me/7e83f9c7

Please donate today to continue our mission of providing healthy food options to our guests living in the food deserts of Milwaukee.

The IFP's second priority is increasing access to healthy high-protein foods by providing two or more foods containing at least 15 grams of protein per serving to all guests at every visit. This gives guests an additional 720 grams or more of lean protein annually.

Research shows that consuming adequate lean protein helps people stay fuller longer, helps maintain healthy blood sugar levels, and supports the preservation of lean body mass, especially in those with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.

Kindness and Dignity:

IFP believes our guests deserve the dignity of an annual Thanksgiving meal. Our third priority is to provide families with a nutritionally balanced Thanksgiving meal that includes a choice of turkey or ham, Thanksgiving trimmings, and 20 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables.

IFP believes sharing a Thanksgiving meal builds rapport throughout the community, improves mental health, and helps ease the stress of poverty and food insecurity during the Holidays. In 2023, IFP served 1,428 families at our T-Day dinner.

We need your support to continue to serve our guests quality fruits and vegetables; please consider donating today!

History of the Interchange Food Pantry

The Interchange Food Pantry began in 1971 as a neighborhood food pantry serving Milwaukee's Lower East Side.

In 2017, IFP started the Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program (FFVP), which is our cornerstone program. IFP purchases high-quality fresh fruits and vegetables from wholesale produce companies when donated produce is unavailable or of poor quality. In 2023, IFP will buy about $136,000 in fruits and vegetables.

In 2018, the IFP went from a neighborhood food pantry to a city-wide pantry to meet the needs of Milwaukee's underserved populations.

Due to the pandemic in 2020, the IFP grew exponentially, from 13,984 guests in 2019 to 34,848 guests in 2020.

In 2020, IFP opened two satellite food pantries in Milwaukee's two poorest zip codes, 53206 and 53233.

In 2022, the IFP held our first Thanksgiving Dinner Giveaway and served 1,024 families a turkey or ham, the traditional trimmings, and twenty pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables, and in 2023, we served 1428 families.

What differentiates Interchange Food Pantry from other food pantries in Milwaukee?

1. IFP serves the entire city of Milwaukee. Most food pantries are neighborhood pantries.
2. IFP purchases 95% of our fresh fruits and vegetables from wholesale companies; most pantries rely on donated food that is often of poor quality, lacks culturally specific staple foods, or is unavailable.
3. IFP allows guests to receive food twice a month; most pantries allow their guests one visit per month.
4. Our Thanksgiving dinners include twenty pounds of fresh produce.

In Closing:

IFP believes that a healthy life begins with what is on your plate. Our goal is to provide our guests with quality food items, starting with purchasing fruits and vegetables to improve our guest's health. It is not enough to provide our guests with donated food that is available but unhealthy.

At IFP, healthy food isn't an option. It is the option.

Please support our mission of providing our guests with healthy food by donating today!

Happy Holidays!
From the Interchange Staff and Board of Directors

Donate to help Milwaukee Families facing hunger!, organisiert von George Neureuther "The food I receive is nourishing, it's nutritious" – Nickie… George Neureuther braucht deine Unterstützung für Donate to help Milwaukee Families facing hunger!

On December 5th, we had a wonderful group of 8 Medix employees volunteer at the pantry. Medix, one of the leading providers of healthcare and life science recruiting, is a company founded on serving others and impacting lives, so it's no wonder that their amazing employees were also amazing volunteers!

The Medix team packed hundreds of dry goods, produce, and frozen meat bags, allowing Interchange to continue serving its guests with the nutritious food that they look forward to.

"Volunteering embodies and reinforces our core values," Jessica, a Medix employee, shared. "We have a corporate mission to positively impact lives."

Volunteering has many positive impacts on people, especially when they come together as a group to give back. Speaking on the importance of her work team volunteering, Jessica said, "Volunteering creates a culture of giving back at Medix. We have a Day of Service that we are strongly encouraged to do. When we volunteer, we are able to serve our community beyond our important work of supporting healthcare."

The Medix team enjoyed their time volunteering at Interchange and were happy to spend their Day of Service with us. "The guests and volunteers here are great. It was a smooth operation, and we were able to provide for people in need."

A huge thank you to Walmart, a close friend of Interchange and one of our largest supporters!

Through Walmart’s charitable giving effort, Interchange received $20,000 dollars to purchase the trimmings for our 2023 Thanksgiving Dinner Giveaway. “Walmart is founded on giving. That’s a huge part of our mission - save money, live better. It's an in-store experience, but it's also about sharing that in the community by giving back.” Jeff, the Senior Manager of Corporate Affairs at Walamrt, shared.

Along with the generous cash donation, over 30 Walmart employees donated their time to help out at the Thanksgiving Giveaway, showing how wholly dedicated the Walmart community is to giving back. Jeff recognized the importance of volunteering, saying: “Walmart gives 1.7 billion dollars on an annual basis in cash and in-kind donations. And we understand that when we give locally, that’s when we can really have boots on the ground and make an impact on the community. The people we’re serving during these types of events are the people who shop in our stores. Our customers are our community.”

“Larger food pantries seem to have a lot more philanthropic income. Interchange is a smaller food pantry that does a tremendous amount of work in the inner city, and the need is very great,” Jeff said about his choice to partner with Interchange.

Walmart's dedication to supporting Interchange is appreciated beyond words, and we are excited to continue working with them in the future!

Interchange's 2023 Thanksgiving Dinner Giveaway 🦃

On Saturday, November 18th, Interchange gave away 1400 Thanksgiving dinners to our Milwaukee community members. With the support of our donors and volunteers, we were able to provide a whole turkey or ham, 20 pounds of produce, and Thanksgiving trimmings!

A special thanks to Walmart, who donated $20,000 dollars to support this event, as well as the 35 Walmart employees who volunteered for our pantry on Sunday.

Another thank you to the University School of Milwaukee community members who volunteered on Saturday; over 100 USoM students, parents, alumni, and family members showed up to make sure the day ran perfectly.

And finally, thank you to Panera (fifth slide) and Sendiks (sixth slide) for their generous donations of coffee and donuts, respectively, for our volunteers.

Without the support of USoM, Walmart, and all of our other donors, sponsors, and volunteers, Interchange would not have been able to do this. Thank you all ♥️

Here are some highlights from our busy weekend! Holiday wishes to everyone.

Volunteer Spotlight - MGIC Group

Last Thursday, 10 MGIC employees volunteered at Interchange to help run our pantry day. The group was hard at work all morning stocking, organizing, packing, and delivering food to our guests. Two volunteers, Jay and Nikita, shared their experience volunteering with us.

“I’ve always wanted to volunteer more, especially at a food pantry. The mission is incredibly important,” Jay said when asked why he joined the volunteer group. Nikita shared his sentiments and noted that she’s grateful her job gives her the opportunity to help her community. Both of them value giving back and would recommend everyone to volunteer with Interchange. As Jay perfectly put it: “A lot of the problems we face in society can be helped by coming together and solving it.”

During the pantry, the MGIC group helped serve 146 guests. Jay and Nikita enjoyed talking to the guests, with Nikita sharing, “The guests are so respectful and friendly. They were all very easy to talk to.”

The volunteer group also got the chance to speak with George Neureuther, the Interchange Food Pantry director. He spoke with them about Interchange’s mission of delivering healthy food to the Milwaukee community and how we serve our guests with compassion. Jay agreed with George that it’s important for people to not only enjoy the food they eat but have a cultural connection with it, and he felt that Interchange’s goal to “stay cultural” with our food is important to serving our community with compassion.

Thank you to the MGIC employees who volunteered their time to help out at Interchange!

Guest Spotlight - Nickie✨

Nickie has been coming to Interchange since September after being introduced to us by her case worker. Her experience working as a nurse has shown her the value of helping others, which is one reason she appreciates Interchange: the community of volunteers who are dedicated to giving back. Nickie explained why Interchange is the only pantry she goes to: “It’s always calm and the volunteers are always patient. Kathy, one of the staff members, makes sure that everything is not chaotic.” Interchange also allows her to pay it forward; she picks up food for herself and her neighbor and has told her transport driver and two more neighbors about our pantry. “The food I receive nourishes; it’s nutritious,” Nickie said when asked why she encourages others to visit Interchange. “Interchange has helped me in difficult times of need. It’s made me feel comfortable. And it puts a smile on my face to help my neighbor.”

Guest/Volunteer Spotlight - John ⭐️

John T. has been coming to Interchange for four months as a guest and dedicated volunteer. He found Interchange through Google and says it has been a tremendous help for him and his family. “The staff and volunteers treat everyone politely and with respect. They don’t look at you like you’re less than them,” John said about the Interchange community. When volunteering, he helps with everything from greeting guests and handing out food to preparing grocery bags and breaking down cardboard boxes. He’s enjoyed getting to see how the pantry runs and recommends other guests should volunteer to do the same. “It's a good thing to see how things work.” We’ve enjoyed having John as a guest and volunteer, too!

Interested in learning more about Interchange Food Pantry? Visit our website at https://interchangefoodpantry.org or email us at [email protected]

We are located at 130 E. Juneau Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53202

Interchange Guest Spotlight - Kim!

Kim is a single mother of three and found out about the Interchange Food Pantry through a friend.”It’s over two years since I’ve been coming here to the pantry, and today, I brought along a friend of mine who’s never been here before.” Kim enjoys coming to the pantry as she knows she will be treated with kindness from when she enters the pantry doors to when a volunteer takes her food to her car and helps her put the food in her trunk. The pantry saves her money, and her favorite foods she receives are fresh fruits and vegetables. “I enjoy the quality of the produce and the quick service.” The one thing she would like to see more of is meat, especially ground beef. We received a Feeding America shipment of ground beef two days later and will have some for Kim at her next visit.

Thank you to the University School of Milwaukee students!

On Thursday, September 21, Interchange had the pleasure of receiving help from 24 University School of Milwaukee students led by USoM staff members Angie Riefenberg and Michael Bartl.

With their help, Interchange Food Pantry served 84 families with fresh produce, meat, and pantry staples. The students packed bags of food, staged the shopping area, pulled guests' orders, handed out the orders to our guests, and put the stock away at the end of the day. Beyond helping Interchange’s guests, they also prepared grocery bags for Interchange’s Saturday pantry and packed grocery bags for Interchange’s satellite pantry, the Quality of Life Food Pantry. The Interchange community is incredibly grateful for their hard work helping the pantry run smoothly.
Afterward, Interchange director George Neureuther spoke with the students about their experience volunteering at Interchange. The students shared that they appreciated how friendly the guests were and how they enjoyed connecting with them on a personal level by making them feel welcome and helping out with any special requests. As George so accurately pointed out, the most important value at Interchange Food Pantry is compassion. The USoM students recognized their own compassion in their kindness towards guests, how they handled the groceries with care and the healthy, nourishing food that they provided.

Thank you, again, to the USoM students and staff listed below for contributing to Interchange’s mission of compassion and care!

Angie Riefenberg, Michael Bartl, Charles Slocum, Elijah Myers, Anand George, Yusra Khan, Leah Liberman, Atieno Rodriguez, Gabi Ortiz Fleet, Bethany Martin, Veronica Wydra, Eliana Igwike, Geno Cooks, Piercen Luedke, Eshaan Vasudev, Ethan Van Genderen, Gunter Kocourek, Sam Eason, Meredith Joy, Lucy Grady, Ella Scott, Simona Arov, Juliana Hernandez, Tyler Cook, Jasleen Chahal

Volunteer Spotlight: 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐛 𝐚𝐭 University School of Milwaukee ✨

Nathan is a high school senior, gardener, and leader of the Environmental Club at University School of Milwaukee. The club’s members include about 50 students and two faculty sponsors who collaborate to maintain three outdoor campus gardens and a greenhouse facility. One of the gardens and the greenhouse are exclusively dedicated to providing donations to the lunch program and partnering with community outreach programs, including its newest partner, Interchange. Nathan was kind enough to share his gardening background with Interchange.

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦?
"Since I was a kid, I have always loved to be outdoors. I have also been blessed to receive a great education on a campus with dozens of acres of outdoor education space. We have large fields, hiking trails, garden facilities, a full beekeeping area, and much more places and opportunities to be outdoors. It's this opportunity that for so long I took for granted and never really cared about. In elementary school and middle school, sure, doing school outside was better than the classroom, but I realized the number of schools, especially within the Milwaukee community, that can't even spot a tree or a patch of grass bigger than the sidewalk when they walk out of the classroom. Understanding this privilege that I was gifted helped me realize that I should use my opportunities to create and extend opportunities to others. This extends beyond the outdoors, but starting with gardening is a great place to start, and now it is a passion of mine that I hope to continue for years to come."

𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥?
"My mom and I work in tandem on a large tomato/basil garden and a composting site. This tomato garden produces around 20 pounds of tomatoes per year. The small organic greenhouse (which looks a little sad in the picture as it was taken after a large harvest) is owned and operated year-round by myself, and I grow a variety of herbs and microgreens. We have run the tomato garden since I was a child and the greenhouse I started two summers ago."

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐒𝐌 𝐄𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐛 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞?
"[A] small batch of microgreens and herbs, which is a great addition to many dishes, providing a more engaging and flavorful taste. [We] hope to continue donating these products in the future, along with any smaller/more specialty produce items that may be of use. We have great facilities and great passion for helping the Milwaukee community and Interchange is the door through which we can start to do this!"

Volunteer Spotlight: 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚 ✨

Entering senior year can be a stressful time for high school students. Still, Stella – who will begin her senior year this fall – managed to find time in her busy schedule to not only volunteer but also share her volunteer experiences with Interchange. See how Stella's time with Interchange taught her the powerful impact one person can make.

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞?
My mom got me into volunteering [at Interchange] when I was in fifth or sixth grade. We volunteered more often before COVID. This is our first day back! She's always encouraged me to do community service. I really appreciated that.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐧-𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫-𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠?
Before COVID, guests shopped at Interchange like they would at a grocery store, and volunteers walked around helping the guests as they made their choices. I loved that because I've always loved grocery shopping. I loved talking to the shoppers too. They'd always go, "Awww," because I was a kid. It made me really happy to volunteer here because I liked helping, talking to people, and the grocery-shopping style. I thought it was the best thing ever.

𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰?
I'm still a big fan, and I still like grocery shopping. I actually went grocery shopping before I came here today. But volunteering has helped me see that I genuinely like helping people. I even signed up for a service trip that I just got back from a few weeks ago.

𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤. 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞?
It was so inspiring. We stayed with a lady in town during the day, played games with the kids in town, and got to talk with lots of people. The area we went to is apparently the poorest town in [the country], but it's inspiring that they have such a tight-knit community. Their joy inspired me to get back into community service when I returned home. I actually wrote in my journal, "I want to help in the community again when I get back." So, I asked my mom to contact Interchange.

𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨?
I learned a lot, but I really like how volunteering teaches you about experiences and perspectives that you may not experience otherwise. Seeing others' experiences helps you understand more about the world and yourself. Volunteering opens your eyes to life outside your bubble. Everyone feels joy and pain but in different ways, for different reasons. Something else I learned that I hope [other young people] learn is their individual power to make a difference.

𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭?
Interchange showed me how someone as small as a ten-year-old can make a difference in the community. A lot of the other students on the service trip were forced to go by their parents or upset we couldn't take our phones. The last day of the trip, a few of us met a family of four living in a dilapidated house. In the few hours we had left, I introduced the students in my group to the family. The family's story gave me the idea to ask everyone in our group to donate what they could to help fix their house. The individual amounts weren't that much, but combined, we raised over $500. That was enough to fix their entire ceiling. The students got a bigger perspective on life and saw how each one of us had a part in making a huge impact. And an impact doesn't even have to be about money. Just having a conversation with someone can make their day and make your day.