“I spend a lot of my time volunteering at this shelter every Saturday, called Project Downtown. It’s located in Jennings, Missouri, and the poverty rates are pretty bad over there, so what we do is we make food for them and then distribute food boxes to people who need it in a parking lot. I started volunteering there when I was seven, and I have just stuck with it since. I usually volunteer with my friends, and it’s nice because it creates a fun environment with the people I know and the new people I get to meet. I started volunteering there because just seeing how different these people’s lifestyles are from mine, makes me want to take action and help them in any way I can.” – Rahma Salem, 11