Eliah Fink (r.) is a junior at St. Louis Park High School. For Eliah, the most meaningful part of the trip was the pop-up café the teens set up for the homeless.

The teens prepared the food, took orders, and then served the meals.

“A highlight… was getting to talk to [the homeless] people and really feel like we were making a difference, a difference for real people,” Eliah says.

Making a difference is something Eliah now wants to continue to do in his own community.

“I want to try and more directly help people, and in a way that is significant to me,” he says.

Eliah adds that the trip raised his awareness, in two important ways.

“The trip brought me more awareness of people living in the same world as us, but with such different realities,” he explains. “The trip also brought me awareness and knowledge of Judaism and brought me closer to quite a few of my Jewish peers.”