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Wittenberg students gain carpentry skills by working with Habitat for Humanity volunteers. |
Enter 15 Wittenberg students, who will spend next week's spring break in Biloxi, Miss.
"I have been focused on recruiting adult leaders with construction skills in order to form an effective team," said Molly Ritchie, Americorps VISTA working in Wittenberg's Office of Community Service. "Fortunately, several of the students who are participating on the trip also have a good set of skills and experiences with dry wall, electrical set-up, as well as other aspects of construction.
"While many students see spring break as a time to relax on the beach, participants on the trip will be using their time off from class to get their hands dirty and help people in need."
The Wittenberg students going to Mississippi received training from skilled individuals affiliated with the Clark County Chapter of Habitat for Humanity by building a shed to practice carpentry skills. The shed was then donated to Habitat for Humanity to benefit a local family in need.
"Community service is important because it helps us take focus off ourselves and center on others," Ritchie said. "It encourages students to be grateful, humble, sensitive and loving individuals who care about how they spend their time and about the lives of others. In fact, I would say that an education is incomplete without the experience and values learned through meaningful service."
The spring break trip, one of several emanating from Wittenberg with service as the primary motivating factor, has been organized for a second straight year by the university's Office of Community Service Office and the Office of the Pastor through Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR). This is a collaborative relief effort of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod with a mission "to minister holistically to the unmet needs of those affected, regardless of faith or creed."
Written By: Dani Nicholson '07
Photo Submitted By Gene Harvey
032-07
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