Incoming students experience service in their new community

Guided by 21 student, faculty and staff team leaders, Heidelberg’s class of 2026 fanned out into the Tiffin community on Saturday to participate in service projects for the annual BergServe event.

BergServe is a big part of Welcome Week activities, designed to help new students acclimate to college life and their new home away from home.

For several hours on Saturday, they performed light landscaping, light housekeeping, did activities, games and crafts with residents at various facilities, mentored youth, painted, cleaned, organized and prepared food.

The Office of Religious Life and Civic Engagement coordinated BergServe, which included 21 local agencies such as Stein and Community Hospice Care, Autumnwood Care Center, several local churches, Franciscan Earth Literacy Center, the Ritz Theatre, the Tiffin Community YMCA, the Tiffin Seneca Economic Partnership and the Transformation Life Center, among others.

One group, led by Dr. Pam Faber, even installed smoke detectors in several homes on behalf of the Red Cross. Pam, who is a volunteer for the Red Cross’ Disaster Action Team, explained that the smoke detector project is part of the organization’s Sound the Alarm campaign. Overall, ’Berg students installed about 20 detectors as part of BergServe.