LWU staff and students spend spring break in New York to volunteer with longtime partner God’s Love We Deliver, reflect on impact and meaning of 9/11.
by Duane Bonifer
COLUMBIA, KY. (03/11/2026) Lindsey Wilson University’s Madyson Jones ’25 said she was not looking forward to a spring break service trip to New York City, even though she had planned it.
But after experiencing the Lindsey Wilson residence life tradition for the first time, the Elizabethtown, Kentucky, native said she quickly understood the significance of the trip.
“To be frank, I was dreading going on the trip,” said Jones, who is the women’s resident director and a student in the university’s graduate program in counseling. “But I had the best time. I really did not understand the impact of this trip until I experienced it.”
For more than a quarter-century, Lindsey Wilson’s residence life staff members have traveled to New York to volunteer at God’s Love We Deliver, a 41-year-old nonprofit organization that delivers meals to people with severe illnesses.
During this year’s spring break, March 2-6, 12 residence life staff members were joined by Dean of Students Chris Schmidt and Assistant Dean of Students Abe Cross. In addition to serving with God’s Love We Deliver, the residence life group toured the 9/11 Memorial & Museum and took in some of the sights of the Big Apple.
The Lindsey Wilson crew worked in the kitchen at God’s Love We Deliver, where they prepared more than 1,000 vegetarian dinners, 1,500 servings of soup and 2,000 regular dinners for some of the New York residents who are served every day by the nonprofit.
“Being able to serve with them was so special, especially when you see the people who really need it,” said Jones.
A quarter-century of service
Lindsey Wilson’s residence life program made its first service trip to New York before the terrorist attacks of 9/11. During their first post-9/11 trip, the Lindsey Wilson group started to include a trip to the site where more than 2,700 people died on that day in 2001. Now, the trip includes a visit to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, which opened more than 10 years ago.
All of the Lindsey Wilson residence staff members who participated in this year’s service trip were born after 9/11. But Jones said that didn’t lessen the significance of visiting the memorial.
“It was extremely impactful,” said Jones, who was born in 2003. “A lot of us had talked about the fact that you really don’t understand it until you are there. The nitty-gritty of the event does not come to life until you visit it.”
Schmidt, a New York native who has participated in all but one of the service trips, said he always learns something when they visit the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.
“You are kind of at one with your thoughts when you are at the memorial, but you could see that every one of our students who attended the memorial this year felt the enormity of it all,” said Schmidt, who knew people who died in the 9/11 attacks. “It left them sort of speechless, and a few tears shed.”
Schmidt said the group had “a very meaningful discussion about 9/11 and what it meant,” at Pronto Pizza, which is less than a five-minute walk from the memorial.
“It was interesting to listen to the staff discuss what they had experienced, what it meant to them and how the event has shaped our world today,” he said.
Jones, who hopes to become a play therapist, said she was touched by a current exhibit at the memorial, “Drawing Meaning: Trauma and Children’s Art After 9/11.” It explores how young artists from all over the world used art as part of the healing process and to express their feelings about the terrorist attacks.
“It’s just heartbreaking. You feel for so many people,” said Jones. “We see the number of people who passed away, but there were also people who were unaccounted for because they didn’t have any family members to wonder about them.”
Lindsey Wilson education major Emmalee Miller ’27 of Louisville, Kentucky, also took a lot away from the exhibit at the 9/11 memorial, especially because she plans to work with children after she graduates from LWU.
“Seeing how children form their own way to talk about a tragedy like that really stood out to me,” said Miller, who is a resident adviser in Phillips Hall. Hou
ston Cloud ’27 of Lancaster, Kentucky, said the visit to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum served as a reminder of how the tragedy shaped the world into which he was born in 2004.
“It meant a lot the first time I went there, and it meant a lot this time as well,” said Cloud, who is a resident adviser in Harold J. Smith Hall.
In addition to Cross, Jones and Schmidt, the Lindsey Wilson residence life professional staff members who helped lead the service trip were Director of Residence Life Bree Downs ’24 and Women’s Resident Director Madison Duvall ’24.
In addition to Cloud and Miller, the Lindsey Wilson student residence life staff who took part in the service trip were: Peyton Allen ’27 of Louisville; Aimee Flynn ’27 of Powell, Tennessee; Jaden Latiola ’28 of Radcliff, Kentucky; Eli McIntosh ’27 of Bowling Green, Kentucky; Cade Ramsey ’27 of Russell Springs, Kentucky; Ally Sanabria ’28 of Auburn, Kentucky; and Ashley Turner ’26 of Lexington, Kentucky.
Members of the Lindsey Wilson University residence life staff volunteered to serve at God’s Love We Deliver during the university’s spring break, March 2-6. The 41-year-old New York-based nonprofit delivers meals to people with severe illnesses. Pictured outside of the God’s Love We Deliver office in Manhattan are: near front, Assistant Dean of Students Abe Cross; front, Dean of Students Chris Schmidt; middle row, from left: Director of Residence Life Bree Downs ’24; Women’s Resident Director Madison Duvall ’24; Emmalee Miller ’27 of Louisville, Kentucky; Jaden Latiola ’28 of Radcliff, Kentucky; Ashley Turner ’26 of Lexington, Kentucky; and Peyton Allen ’27 of Louisville; back row, from left: Eli McIntosh ’27 of Bowling Green, Kentucky; Cade Ramsey ’27 of Russell Springs, Kentucky; Houston Cloud ’27 of Lancaster, Kentucky; Aimee Flynn ’27 of Powell, Tennessee; and Ally Sanabria ’28 of Auburn, Kentucky.
Members of the Lindsey Wilson University residence life staff are joined by a chef from God’s Love We Deliver, far right, during the university’s spring break, March 2-6. The residence life staff volunteered to serve at the 41-year-old New York-based nonprofit that delivers meals to people with severe illnesses. Pictured from LWU, alphabetically are: Peyton Allen ’27 of Louisville, Kentucky; Houston Cloud ’27 of Lancaster, Kentucky; Director of Residence Life Bree Downs ’24; Aimee Flynn ’27 of Powell, Tennessee; Women’s Resident Director Madyson Jones ’25; Jaden Latiola ’28 of Radcliff, Kentucky; Eli McIntosh ’27 of Bowling Green, Kentucky; Emmalee Miller ’27 of Louisville; Cade Ramsey ’27 of Russell Springs, Kentucky; Ally Sanabria ’28 of Auburn, Kentucky; and Ashley Turner ’26 of Lexington, Kentucky.
Members of the Lindsey Wilson University residence life prepare meals for clients of God’s Love We Deliver during the university’s spring break, March 2-6. The residence life staff volunteered to serve at the 41-year-old New York-based nonprofit that delivers meals to people with severe illnesses. Pictured, alphabetically: Director of Residence Life Bree Downs ’24; Aimee Flynn ’27 of Powell, Tennessee; Women’s Resident Director Madyson Jones ’25; Eli McIntosh ’27 of Bowling Green, Kentucky; Emmalee Miller ’27 of Louisville, Kentucky; and Ashley Turner ’26 of Lexington, Kentucky.
Lindsey Wilson University Women’s Resident Director Madyson Jones ’25 takes a picture of members of the university’s residence life staff enjoying Times Square during their spring break, March 2-6. The group volunteered to serve at New York-based God’s Love We Deliver, a 41-year-old nonprofit that delivers meals to people with severe illnesses. Pictured with Jones, alphabetically, are: Peyton Allen ’27 of Louisville Kentucky; Houston Cloud ’27 of Lancaster, Kentucky; Director of Residence Life Bree Downs ’24; Women’s Resident Director Madison Duvall ’24; Aimee Flynn ’27 of Powell, Tennessee; Jaden Latiola ’28 of Radcliff, Kentucky; Eli McIntosh ’27 of Bowling Green, Kentucky; Emmalee Miller ’27 of Louisville; Cade Ramsey ’27 of Russell Springs, Kentucky; Ally Sanabria ’28 of Auburn, Kentucky.
Lindsey Wilson University is a vibrant liberal arts university in Columbia, Kentucky. Founded in 1903 and affiliated with The United Methodist Church, the mission of Lindsey Wilson is to serve the educational needs of students by providing a living-learning environment within an atmosphere of active caring and Christian concern where every student, every day, learns and grows and feels like a real human being. Lindsey Wilson offers 28 undergraduate majors, five graduate programs and a doctoral program. The university’s 29 intercollegiate varsity athletic teams have won more than 120 team and individual national championships.
(Duane Bonifer – Lindsey Wilson University)