Fall break service trip to central Illinois a success for Huxtable, Monmouth College students
Monmouth, Ill. (10/30/2023) — While it's true there was a little horsing around, a group of five Monmouth College students did an impressive amount of work on a recent volunteer trip to Kemmerer Village during fall break.
Led by Monmouth's chaplain, the Rev. John Huxtable '04, the students worked on the Thursday and Friday (Oct. 12-13) of fall break before heading back to campus Saturday from Kemmerer Village, which is roughly a half-hour southeast of Springfield in rural Assumption.
In 1884, farmer Philip Kemmerer wrote in his will a gift to the children of the future - that his 400-acre farm and assets were to be given to the Presbyterian Churches of Central Illinois to create a home "for the orphans and friendless poor of all denominations."
The doors of Kemmerer Orphan's Home officially opened in 1914. Today, the Presbyterian childcare agency's mission is to provide a wide range of quality services that meet the needs of children, youth and families.
One element of the programming at Kemmerer Village is essentially identical to what is offered by a Monmouth organization, Rainbow Riders.
"One of the things they do there is equine therapy," said Huxtable. "Our students got to have a session with the therapist, and they fed the horses and petted them. I believe if you asked them, that was everybody's favorite part."
They 'worked their tails off'
It was also a time to relax after putting in some heavy labor.
"Mainly, we helped tear down their main building," said Huxtable. "The kids really worked their tails off. They told us our group worked harder than any other group they've had. For two days, we cleared out the building, moving all their records and that kind of thing."
Huxtable explained it's a Kemmerer Village tradition to take a photo of each volunteer group on the front steps of that building. The Monmouth College group shot is now part of history, as it was the last one taken on those steps.
"I decided to go on this trip because it allowed me to be involved with a community outside of campus and help others," said Lina Jursa '24. "I'm extremely glad I went because I got to connect with so many wonderful individuals, both Monmouth students and the staff at Kemmerer Village. I got to listen to the staff's stories, as well as witness all the unique skills that each student brought to the trip."
Also taking part in the trip were Alejandro Arteaga '24, Ryan Bowman '24, Parker Burch '26 and Kelsey Holtgrave '25.
For Huxtable, it was the first student trip he's led since beginning work at his alma mater earlier this year.
"It's all about service and helping out any way that we can," he said. "It helps the students understand that we're all deeply connected. I was so impressed with how hard they worked. For my first trip, it went really well. It was a wonderful experience, and they were fantastic hosts."
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The five students who participated in the trip were, from left, Kelsey Holtgrave, Parker Burch, Ryan Bowman, Lina Jursa and Alejandro Arteaga.
Ryan Bowman took advantage of an opportunity to have an up close and personal moment with one of the animals that's part of Kemmerer Village's equine therapy program.