Wartburg College students will be engaged in community service on seven nationwide service trips April 21-29.

The 76 students, accompanied by faculty and staff advisers, are partnering with local organizations to address a community-identified need. They will work with female victims of violence, those who have endured racism, underprivileged children and a Native American tribe constructing a village. They also will help with housing rehabilitation and national park restoration efforts.

“All of our trips are student-proposed and student-led,” said Renee Sedlacek, Wartburg’s service-learning coordinator. “It empowers students to take ownership and adds to the creativity.”

Students recently finished Winter Semester and have the one-week break before the start of the four-week May Term, which concludes the academic year. Wartburg has one of the highest percentages of student participation on service trips during breaks, including being ranked No. 1 during 2009-10 by Break Away, the national alternative break organization with 150 chapters.

Wartburg is a four-year, selective liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The college enrolls 1,805 students from 29 U.S. states and 49 countries. Its top five majors in terms of student enrollment are biology, business administration, communication arts, elementary education and psychology.

The service trip destinations are:

• Corpus Christi, Texas, “Building Homes for a Better Community”: Ten students will work with Habitat for Humanity to build a home for a family.
• Denver, “You Are Your Home”: Nine students will work with Habitat for Humanity, which builds and sells houses to people unable to afford them through normal circumstances. The family is given a house after 250 hours of its work on the building side.
• New York City, “Empowerment Through Education”: Seven students will work with underprivileged youth, focusing on how poverty affects students and their families. They will be working with multiple organizations, including the public schools, the Parks and Recreation program and a soup kitchen. 
• Everglades National Park, “Sweat, Service and Sun”: Seven students will focus on animal and environmental conservation in the Everglades with restorations and hands-on work with wildlife at various research centers. Service sites include Everglades National Park, Everglades Outpost Wildlife Refugee, Florida Keys Bird Center and the Monkey Jungle.
• Burlington, N.C., “Bringing the Past and Future Together”: Eight students will be working with the Sanopi people, a Native American tribe, helping them construct a native village, preserving their culture, attracting visitors and generating new revenue.
• Nashville, “Fighting Violence With Love”: Nine students will volunteer at Thistle Farms, a women’s rehabilitation center, allowing a look inside the world of women affected by violence.
• Selma, Ala., “Discovering the Role of History Through Service”: Ten students will be working in and engaging with a community with a rich historical background, while gaining new perspectives on the issue of racism and prejudice.