This year’s Celebrate Service event, part of a busy week, April 2-7, of activities designed to highlight the Wittenberg mission during the inauguration of Dr. Michael L. Frandsen, took place at Oesterlen Services for Youth in Springfield, April 7.

A group of approximately 25 Wittenberg students, faculty and staff visited the complex, decorated and painted the living spaces of the cottages for youth residents at Oesterlen.

“When it came to a big event like the inauguration, we wanted to partner with someone we have a longstanding relationship with, so we chose Oesterlen,” said Jessica Walters, class of 2018 from Springfield, Ohio, and a community service coordinator at Wittenberg’s Susan Hirt Hagen Center for Civic and Urban Engagement.

“Oesterlen serves as an example of the longevity of the partnerships we create and the value we place in them. We’ve been partners with Oesterlen for more than 30 years, as the organization was one of the first ones on our partner list, which today includes more than 50 community partners. Oesterlen does so much for the community, and we are honoring that light that it is passing on. We just wanted to come in and help in any way we can. That’s really what it’s all about,” she added.

The Celebrate Service event began 16 years ago in recognition of Wittenberg's service-focused mission. Leaders of the event are community service coordinators from the Hagen Center. This year’s event started with an orientation session at Wittenberg’s Benham-Prince Student Center.

“I’ve always enjoyed working with kids and so I started serving here at Oesterlen,” said Carly Slang, class of 2021, from Hilliard, Ohio. “I wanted to experience something different. I work in the office, and I have really learned about the history of the institution during my time here. I came today because I wanted to leave my mark on this special place.”

Another person who has certainly left his mark at Oesterlen is Dave Jackson. Once an employee at the facility who recently retired, Jackson still volunteers and helped out at the event. In partnership with the residents, Jackson’s artwork can be seen throughout the facility. He joked that “my parents never let me draw on walls when I was growing up.”

Kristen Collier, director of community service at the Hagen Center and a 1992 Wittenberg alumna, thanked the staff at Oesterlen for continuing its long partnership with Wittenberg throughout the years. She then presented the team with special framed photos, which expressed the university’s appreciation for all the organization does in the community.

“We are really glad you chose to come here,” said Mark Derr, director of business operations. “This is a great way for us to showcase who we are. We are one of the best-kept secrets in Springfield, providing a safe and fun place for our residents. We want our kids to have the best life possible without feeling like they are in an institution.”

According to its website, Oesterlen is a comprehensive multi-program social services agency with a focus on mental and behavioral health, serving approximately 1,000 children and their families annually. On behalf of the church, in witness to Christ, its mission is to serve children in need from infancy through transition into adulthood, and to promote their mental, social, physical, and spiritual well-being. To carry out this mission, Oesterlen is dedicated to promoting healthy families and utilizing the highest possible standards within the professional fields of our service.

About Oesterlen Services for the Youth, Inc.:
Oesterlen Services for Youth, Inc., was founded in 1903 as the Oesterlen Orphans Home by several major synods of the Lutheran Church in Ohio. It remains affiliated today with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the present successor body of the organizing synods in 1903. Oesterlen began transitioning into a mental health, behavioral health, and social services agency in the late 1950’s. Today’s Oesterlen offers a complete spectrum of residential, community-based, treatment foster care, home-based, and school-based therapeutic services, and the respite and resource center, serving more than 1,000 clients and families annually.