The third annual Week of Service at Concordia University Wisconsin April 15-21 will provide students abundant opportunities to elevate their servant heart, ranging from making sandwiches to benefit The Guest House in Milwaukee, sorting food for Feeding America, and the revival of a neighborhood campus cleanup.
“We’re attempting to elevate our mission of living a life uncommon and serving others,” noted Rev. Dr. Randall Ferguson, Director of Christian Service at the university, 12800 North Lake Shore Drive, Mequon. “I’m hopeful that administration, faculty and staff will serve as role models for the students,” added the longtime associate professor of communication.
The week kicks off for students with a shoeless church service on Sunday, April 15. On Monday evening, a showing of the hour-long documentary, “Milwaukee 53206,” will be held in the student union at 7 p.m. Three families in a zip code that incarcerates the highest percentage of black men in America are chronicled, detailing the toll that excessive jail sentencing takes on the families. Free pizza will be served.
Five special chapel services will be held during the week, each one highlighting the main service event that day:
- Monday – Showing of the film “Milwaukee 53206.”
- Tuesday – Indoor soccer tournament to benefit pediatric cancer research.
- Wednesday – Sandwich making to benefit The Guest House in the Terrace Room from noon-1 p.m. and sorting of food at Feeding America in Milwaukee from 2-5 p.m. Throughout the week students can purchase selected food items in The Falcon’s Nest that will be collected and sent to The Guest House.
- Thursday – Student ambassadors will visit Northwest Lutheran School in Milwaukee to address the importance of service.
- Friday – Neighborhood Cleanup Day, 3:30 at the outdoor patio by food service, followed by a cookout.
“Each of these events provides students a chance to live their faith, but more importantly impact their heart,” Ferguson says.
All of Concordia University Wisconsin’s accelerated learning centers are participating as well, including: a collection for the Emergency Food Pantry for the Salvation Army of Fox Cities (Appleton Center); a donation drive for Family Promise of Greater Beloit (Beloit Center); a donation drive for the New Community Shelter (Green Bay Center); a “wish list” collection for Kenosha County’s Safe Harbor Animal Humane Society (Kenosha Center); a food drive for the Saukville Food Pantry (Mequon Center); sandwich preparation for The Guest of Milwaukee (Milwaukee Midtown Center); volunteering at St. Ben’s Community Meal Site (Miller Park Way Center), and donations to the Goodwill Center of Waukesha (Waukesha Center).
While there is no budget for this grassroots effort during National Volunteer Month, an anonymous donor has underwritten a portion of the costs with his endowment to Service Milwaukee, according to Ferguson.
For more details, or to sign up for any of these events, please connect with Dr. Ferguson at Randall.Ferguson@cuw.edu.
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