Title: Lutheran College Students Help Clean Up Greensburg, Kan. ELCA NEWS SERVICE
September 4, 2007
Lutheran College Students Help Clean Up Greensburg, Kan. 07-151-AS*
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- More than 60 students, faculty and staff from Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kan., began the academic year with a lesson in hands-on help. On Aug. 25 the group traveled to Greensburg, Kan., to assist with tornado recovery efforts there. Bethany is one of 28 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
A tornado swept through Greensburg in May, leaving 90 percent of the town's infrastructure devastated. The group from Bethany cleaned lots, helped to repair homes and assemble shelters, distributed more than 45 bicycles and more.
Lisa Runnebaum, Seneca, Kan., a third-year volleyball player, said, although months later, the damage from the tornado is "still shocking. It made me realize my priorities in life." Runnebaum said she was impressed by the appreciation her team received from the residents of Greensburg. "It made me want to do more," she said.
Jon Daniels, Bethany athletic director and head golf coach, said the volunteer work was excellent training for Bethany's student athletes. "I think we have a duty to help student athletes develop into well-rounded individuals. They know that the best gift they can give is to help others, so this is a learning tool for the rest of their lives," he said.
Jane Tubbs, administrative assistant and Web manager for Bethany's art department, said it was hard to think that the people of Greensburg had to engage in cleanup work every day. "Still, in the midst of the mess, there was new building going on," said Tubbs.
Tubbs and Caroline Kahler, associate professor of art at Bethany, unearthed some objects from the rubble as they worked. Kahler plans to create a work of art using the objects and donate the piece to the community of Greensburg.
The service trip was coordinated by staff members of Bethany in conjunction with Lutheran Disaster Response -- a collaborative ministry of the ELCA and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans helped pay for their travel and supplies.
Although not required, the service trip was a supplement to Bethany's weeklong orientation program for first-year and new students. During the week students worked at the Lindsborg Children's Center, volunteered at Lindsborg Parks and Recreation and elsewhere.
"At Bethany we work to instill service-oriented values as part of our Lutheran heritage," said Freda Strack, Bethany's interim dean of students. "We wanted to show new students that this is who we are, this is our community." - - -
Information about Bethany College is at
http://www.ELCA.org/colleges/institutions/bethany.html on the ELCA Web site.
*Aubrey Streit is director of communication, Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kan.
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John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog