Building up Saint Paul’s Infrastructure of Opportunity

Rebecka Green is the program intern for Opportunity Saint Paul this summer.

By Rebecka Green, Program Intern, Opportunity Saint Paul

As a religion major, I spend a lot of time learning about faith. I learn about how faith and religion have affected history, politics, and cross-cultural relationships in significant ways. But once I started interning at Interfaith Action of Greater Saint Paul, I realized that I have forgotten how to slow down and appreciate the strong presence of a multitude of faith traditions in my own backyard, and the people who belong to them.

As the Program Intern for Opportunity Saint Paul, I keep in contact with potential volunteers. I have learned how important religious communities are, not only in volunteers’ day-to-day lives, but also to their desire to create real change in Saint Paul. This desire to help one’s neighbor is a consistent theme throughout the world’s major faith traditions, and is something we recognize and wish to celebrate in our new program.

Opportunity Saint Paul is seeking to improve the economic mobility in the metro area by engaging with dedicated people of faith and with effective, established nonprofits in the Saint Paul area: The Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, CommonBond Communities, Daily Work, East Side Learning Center, Neighborhood House, Reading Partners, and the Saint Paul Public Library.

We are excited to form our inaugural cohort of volunteers as we near our official launch date. Our orientation, on August 17, will kick-off the program, introduce our partner organizations and volunteer positions, and provide the chance to begin forming lasting, meaningful relationships among the volunteers.

We will continue to build these relationships throughout the program with bi-monthly learning community events where our cohort will gather to discuss their experiences and observations, engage in interfaith dialogue, and be inspired by expert speakers. Learning together will increase the capacity for meaningful change and economic opportunity throughout Saint Paul.

It has been an honor to watch this program grow in the short time that I have been with Interfaith Action. Opportunity Saint Paul is ready to build up our community, and begin to make a difference in changing Saint Paul’s infrastructure of opportunity.

To learn more about Opportunity Saint Paul, please contact:

Zac Poxleitner
Director, Opportunity Saint Paul
651-789-3860
zpoxleitner@interfaithaction.org