Jordan Gerard/Winonan
It has been almost a year since the Starfish Project embarked on a trip of a lifetime, but the travelers returned last Wednesday night to talk about recent changes for the non-profit organizations they visited last summer.
Winona State University alumni Spencer Hartz and Kai Hovden shared favorite memories of the trip and the improvements made in each place they visited.
Hovden said, “We were trying to reflect the starfish parable. Every place we went to, every person we helped, we hoped that it meant something to them.”
The starfish parable is about a little boy who threw starfish back into the ocean, but there were thousands of them.
An elderly man was skeptical of the boy’s efforts, but the boy picked up another starfish and simply said, “It will matter to this one.” Hence, where they got their name: The Starfish Project.
The most drastic changes in the places they visited happened at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota and the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas.
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation voted to legalize alcohol sales on the reservation in August 2013. Alcohol was previously prohibited, but people would go over the border to Nebraska and bring back alcohol to the reservation, Hartz said.
With legalization,the reservation would be able to utilize the profits for education and treatment. The decision is still being contested.
“Pine Ridge is the one of the poorest places in the US,” Hartz said. “It’s a culture shock when you visit.”
Another change since their visit is the passing of Fred Phelps. He was the leader of the Westboro Baptist Church, a group known for its extreme protests against the LGBTQ community and other groups.
The Starfish Project group did not originally plan to visit here, but it was located across from a planned visit to the Equality House, an organization that supports LGBTQ communities around the world.
“The Equality House has been lending a hand to the Westboro Baptist Church with whatever they need,” Hovden said. “They’re just saying, ‘We’re here for you guys,’ even though they butt heads.”
The two alumni also mentioned a similar trip might be in the future for the group. They would visit both new and previous organizations.
“We would add another person to our group to shoot video,” Hartz said. “The most comical stuff happened when we were in the car or trying to find a place to sleep.”
Advice they give for someone looking to volunteer?
“Start planning to make it happen, and then don’t be afraid to ask people for help,” Hartz said. “You are in a unique position here at school where everyone is good at something, so make connections with those people.”
The audience reaction was positive. Megan Houdek, an accounting major, attended and was very interested.
“It was really inspiring to hear what they have been through,” Houdek said.
The Starfish Project was launched in June 2013 to promote organizations who work to make the world a better place. The group was formed by Wiley Koehler, who was not present at the talk, Spencer Hartz and Kai Hovden.
