Freely offering to do something, volunteering is a commitment to helping others. From local churches to non-profit organizations, junior Nijah Johnson and senior P.J. Bohjanen have stepped up to make a difference in their communities.

In 2018, Bohjanen saw an advertisement for community service at his local church, The Grove United Methodist Church in Woodbury, MN. Bohjanen’s work at The Grove UMC aims to create a supportive network within the community of the Church and Woodbury. Bohjanen has packed food and hygiene kits for the homeless, collected canned food for food shelters, and built wheelchair ramps for families in need.
“I feel good about doing it. It’s a great thing to do … giving back to your community and helping out,” Bohjanen said. He emailed to get involved and continues to volunteer today.

Since 2021, Johnson has been actively involved in community events aimed at celebrating and promoting family values and healthy communities. Johnson volunteers for the non-profit organization Urban League, which provides events, employment, and educational opportunities for people of African descent and advocates for issues affecting their community. These events range from back-to-school sessions where she assists barbers in cutting students’ hair to workshops that teach the local community about piloting drones.

“I heard about the community volunteering from my aunty, and I liked helping people so I joined,” Johnson said.

Johnson has faced challenges in their volunteer work, but it has allowed them to develop new skills. “I’m not a very social person, … so it’s kind of hard for me to talk to people but I develop social skills talking with families,” Johnson said.

Johnson volunteers in community get-togethers. On Aug. 25, she helped with a cookout in Minneapolis set up by Urban League. “Even though it was a cookout everyone got up and started dancing the Tamia shuffle, it was nice,” Johnson said. “It had food but the dancing and energy made it so special.”

During the pandemic, part of Bohjanen’s volunteer work at The Grove UMC involved writing letters to people at risk who needed to stay isolated. “One of my most memorable moments was when I wrote letters basically saying, ‘hey, we’re thinking about you’ and I got a really sweet letter back thanking me and it was a nice moment,” he said.

Bohjanen recommends volunteering to anyone hoping to get involved, “I would say do it [volunteering], only a good thing can come from doing community service,” Bohjanen said.

Similarly, Johnson advises people to follow their passion in volunteering, “Volunteer for things you care about; I care about my community and helping, so I volunteer to help people.” Johnson said, “But volunteer for whatever you like.”