I haven’t really talked about a certain aspect of my study abroad journey. Volunteering! We must do twelve hours of volunteering as a part of a Certificate in Service and Leadership award from Liverpool Hope University. This is not something I learned until I had arrived in Liverpool; Carol mentioned it during our first weeks there as though I should have known. I even checked the GO Program’s website, where all the possible GO trips are listed, and volunteering is mentioned only briefly. So, it was my fault for not reading the fine print, but I don’t mind volunteering. The international students were given a choice of places we could possibly volunteer at, or you could find a place on your own. During those first couple of weeks, before classes started, we visited three charities where international students could possibly do service work: The Reader, which has a page in the gallery; a small church not far away from Hope Park; and Strawberry Fields, the place I ultimately chose.
Strawberry Fields is a former children’s home for the Salvation Army and a museum about John Lennon, a member of a popular 60s English rock band, the Beatles. That children’s home was the inspiration for the Beatles’ song, Strawberry Fields Forever. John Lennon used to hang out at Strawberry Fields as a child. Now, you can take a tour of the museum and gardens, have a meal at the café, and buy Strawberry Field and John Lennon merchandise at the gift shop.
I was admittedly a little hesitant to work at Strawberry Fields because of its relationship to the Salvation Army, which is a Christian charitable organization. I believe that everyone has a right to freedom of religion but not at the expense of someone else's freedoms. The Salvation Army has a reputation for supporting anti-gay marriage beliefs and discriminating against queer people. An 2017 article ThinkProgress detailed allegations of Salvation Army discriminating against trans people at their Substance abuse clinics. Still, I thought that I would get the most out of helping around Strawberry Fields, getting to know the other workers, volunteers, and the people in the community. I did just that!
I mostly helped around the gift shop, coming in once a week and volunteering for two hours. I would greet customers, help organize and stock merchandise, and talk to my fellow volunteers. It was sometimes boring, especially if there weren't many customers. I was told in the summer that things get busier, which is kind of crazy since every once and a while it was packed. I plan on coming back to Liverpool at some point in the future, so maybe I’ll visit sometime in the summer.
The staff at Strawberry Fields was also very welcoming and kind. They even gave me a card on my last day to show me their appreciation.
If you decide to go to Liverpool Hope University and are not interested in the options, consider doing research on the places you might want to volunteer at before leaving the States. Make sure it's within walking distance of one of the three campuses, so you don’t have to spend money on transportation. (Strawberry Fields is a twenty-five-minute walk from Hope Park, so I can take a shuttle there and walk to the charity.) Then, apply as early as you can. Other students had complications from either waiting too
long to apply or the charitable organization taking too long to get back to them.
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