Why I Love Fargo

YouthWorks has a family site opening in Fargo, ND this summer. When you hear the word Fargo many things may come to your mind. Things like: cold, oil, NDSU, cold, the Coen brothers’ movie, or really, really freezing cold. When I think of Fargo the first thing that comes to my mind is opportunity. This year I have been working to get the Fargo family site ready to go for people to come serve this summer and I have learned a few things while working with the community. I believe Fargo has community leaders that are making positive opportunities for their neighbors, I believe YouthWorks has the opportunity to come alongside the community and experience God in incredible ways, and I believe Fargo will give families the opportunity to have meaningful conversations about some tough topics.

I have met several pastors and nonprofit staff in the Fargo-Moorhead area and every single person has been unbelievably welcoming and kind. Their hospitality and compassion lends to some powerful goals to eradicate things like hunger and homelessness in the Fargo-Moorhead area. Places like Churches United for the Homeless, located in Moorhead, are working to provide safe places for homeless people in the city. This is especially crucial during the bitter cold winters of North Dakota and northern Minnesota. Churches United for the Homeless was born out of a need for space due to overflowing shelters in the city. Churches of many denominations banded together to create a place for their neighbors to go when there was nowhere else. Today they have 57 member churches that provide shelter and support in a spiritual setting to men, women, and children. They are the only shelter within a 250 mile radius that can accommodate single men, single women, and one- and two-parent families. This is just one of the many organizations we will partner with to help serve the community this summer.

The YouthWorks Fargo site will be a family site. Families will experience God in a new way as they step outside of their comfort zone and prepare meals for the homeless, sort food at a local food shelf for those that might be hungry, and work in thrift stores to provide for those in need. This will also open the door to conversations families can have about hunger homelessness, and inequality. Young kids, teenagers, and adults will be able to talk about and process their experience with their family. How do things like hunger and homelessness affect our own community? What can we do to serve those in our communities that may not have enough to eat or a place to stay?

I love Fargo and I can’t wait for families to fall in love with the city this summer!

After spending two summers on YouthWorks staff in South Dakota and Idaho, Sarah joined the MidWest Region team as an Area Director in 2013. She loves traveling to YouthWorks communities in the MidWest and spending time with wonderful community friends. When she is not in the office or on the road she loves spending time outside and working with youth of all ages.