ST. ELIZABETH’S WEEK OF SERVICE AT WARTBURG

LURA AJDINI, TRUMPET STAFF WRITER

The St. Elizabeth’s Week committee will hold a variety of activities. To represent the service and hospitality that St. Elizabeth of the Wartburg Castle in Eisenach, Germany, devoted to the homeless and the poor around the 1200s.

“We celebrate St. Elizabeth because she shows passion for volunteering and committed her life to helping others,” Elizabeth Ricke, second-year student and office coordinator of the Volunteer Action Center (VAC), said.

“This week is to raise awareness for National Hunger and Homelessness, because it’s a real thing and we have the power to help.” St. Elizabeth established a hospital and fed up to 900 people at the castle gates, according to wartburg. edu.

St. Elizabeth’s Week is celebrated every year at Wartburg on the week of Nov. 17 and to mark the anniversary of St. Elizabeth’s Day. “St. Elizabeth’s week is targeted towards Wartburg students to get involved with volunteering and raise awareness about food insecurity issues on campus,” Sydney Galles, a fourth-year student and community liaison partner for the VAC, said.

On Saturday, Nov. 16, two events took place including a Chuck-aduck at the men’s basketball tournament. The same night, the VAC hosted a grilled cheese night where students purchased grilled cheese sandwiches from 12:30 to 2 a.m. Roses were sold on Monday and Tuesday to signify a St. Elizabeth parable.

St. Elizabeth smuggled bread for the poor in her robes, which was a prohibited act, and when she was caught, the bread in her robes turned into roses. Throughout the week there will be different events held that embody what St. Elizabeth was, including Pennies for Professors, where the professor who has the most coins in a jar will dress up like St. Elizabeth on the day of the winner announcement on Nov. 20.

“Our fundraising events are very important to us this year, because we are working to raise enough money to buy a refrigerator for St. Elizabeth’s Bread Basket, the on-campus food pantry,” Galles said. “The activities are open to everyone and we would love to have as many people participating in events as possible.”