More than 350 Wartburg College participated in 10 service projects during Martin Luther King Day Jan. 20.

The projects ranged from working at the Northeast Iowa Food Bank in Waterloo to coaching elementary school students in a Green Olympics in Waverly to creating Blankets of Love, an on-campus project.

More than 210 students filled the Chapel Commons Monday afternoon, carefully cutting and knotting colorful fabrics as part of the fourth annual Blankets of Love, making tie-blankets for youths at the Bremwood Residential Treatment Center in Waverly.

Paris White ’14 of Muscatine, a service event leader, said the blankets are “donated to youths who are from troubled homes or are in bad situations, and these blankets are just something to comfort them and call their own.”

The project — begun in 2011 by Kelsey Nulph ’14 of Batavia, Ill. — resulted in 116 handmade blankets to be given away at Bremwood as gifts during February.

“It’s all about recognizing a need in the community and answering it the best way we can,” said Amanda Schuster ’14 of Arden Hills, Minn., another service event leader. “These kids are forgotten about a lot of times, and this small service has the ability to change their lives and make them feel loved.”

More than 80 members of the Wartburg track and field team and coaches participated in Blankets of Love.

“Our coach (Marcus Newsom) emphasizes the importance of service to my teammates. Getting the chance to volunteer with your teammates while making a difference in other people’s lives is pretty awesome,” said Karly Cochrane ’14 of Mount Vernon. “It’s a new type of bonding.”

During the service event, students were split up into groups of seven or eight and completed five blankets throughout the session. Once the blanket was finished, a felt heart was placed inside and the group of students prayed over the blanket and for the youth receiving it.

“Service events like this are so important because there are many people in our community who aren’t as fortunate as us,” said Brandon Steggall ’14 of Waverly, another Wartburg track and field member. “By giving just two hours of our time, we were able to give back and show we care.”

“This is exactly what MLK stood for,” White said. “Small acts like this are what truly make a difference.”

At St. Paul’s Lutheran School in Waverly, 19 Wartburg students involved in sustainability efforts helped K-6 students reduce the waste from their cold lunch leftovers and coached a relay to learn about recyclable items, said Anne Duncan, Wartburg’s environmental sustainability coordinator.

Following a discussion on energy saving around the home, Duncan said, “students made a sign to remind them to shut off water and lights, which immediately started turning up around the school as well.”

“They also had fun playing ‘baggie ball,’ which uses commonly thrown-away items to play a game that resembles human foosball,” she added.

Principal Stacey Snyder ’86 thanked the Wartburg students “for challenging and motivating” the St. Paul students “to make a difference.”