by Makayla McCloskey ’26

To complete my volunteer hours, I spent many Monday mornings in the Bremen Suppenengel with Nina. When you arrive, you are either asked to work in the kitchen making soup or to sit around a table and make Brötchen (sandwiches) to give out in the afternoon. My first day I worked in the kitchen, but found I preferred making the Brötchen instead.

Working at the Suppenengel was a really fulfilling experience; the work wasn’t overwhelming, and it was a useful way to get more practice hearing everyday German, instead of the academic German I was getting used to. The people in charge were incredibly friendly, one of my favorite memories was everyone discussing the pronunciation of my name and playing “Michaela” by Bata Illic for me because I had never heard it. Everyone there made sure we felt comfortable and hydrated!

Overall, I found the Bremen Suppenengel to be a very achievable and meaningful way to give back to Bremen, even with a busy school semester.

by Nina Grafton ’26

When studying abroad with the Dickinson in Bremen program, students are required to earn 15 to 18 hours of community service. While it can be challenging to balance this in addition to the other requirements of the program, it is important to serve the community you are living in for an extended period of time.

Starting in May, I volunteered weekly with the Bremer Suppenengel. The non-profit is a soup kitchen on wheels: after preparing the food, volunteers bike or drive to various distribution points around the city. The Suppenengel use donations from big grocery retailers and bakeries to make soup and sandwiches to distribute for free. Individuals in need can also take fresh fruit, vegetables, and other food items that aren’t used in the soup.

As a volunteer, my job was to make sandwiches using bread donated from local bakeries. While buttering bread and assembling cheese sandwiches isn’t the most exciting task, I was able to practice my German speaking and listening skills with the other kind volunteers. One of my favorite aspects of volunteering was seeing their familiar faces every Monday.