“When I first arrived at The Steinbruck Center I was completely unaware of what I had gotten myself into. The Center’s mission is to be an interfaith ministry of social justice, hospitality and learning. Steinbruck is home to multiple creative programs located at Luther Place Church. I absolutely love going to work because every single day has been different.
There are three major parts of my internship; the Community Craft Collective, working with groups staying at the Center’s hostel, and summer camp. The Community Craft Collective (CCC) is a group of women that make all kinds of crafts that they can sell. All of these women are homeless and the profit is what they use to support themselves. They are so talented and it has really been amazing to see them in action on a daily basis. The CCC has really been a blessing to be a part of because I get to see woman work daily to change the difficult hand that life has dealt.
The groups staying at the hostel come to learn about urban life and justice issues. They come from all over the country and are of all ages and backgrounds. My job is to take them to two different soup kitchens, So Others Might Eat and Charlie’s Place. These two soup kitchens offer different services, but the learning that is exciting is seeing people exposed for the first time to the raw truths of homelessness in America. I have very much enjoyed playing a role in the opening of eyes to the social justice issues that lurk right under our noses.
The third part of my internship is working with summer camp. Summer camp has been consuming my schedule for the past two weeks and it is what I will continue to do while I am in D.C. The kids that are part of summer camp are primarily Spanish-speaking and therefore it is extra important that during the summer they do not stop using the language skills that they learn school during the year. During summer camp I get to teach the campers songs and interact with them like teachers do. Summer camp has been really great for me in many different ways, but I think what makes it so exciting is being able to see the kids grow and work on themselves. I have a real appreciation for how hard school can be and I hope that by being at the camp these kids will have a little extra shot at being successful. ”
— Mary Cresswell, The Steinbruck Center intern and Lynn University student
