Ellen Ruiters '97 is a founder and executive director of Africa Jam.
On behalf of the Gustavus Adolphus College Association of Congregations (GACAC), President Jim Peterson will present the 2007 Service Award during daily chapel at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 30 to Donn H. Escher ’50 and Ellen Ruiters ’97.
First presented in 1992, the Service Award is intended to recognize alumni of Gustavus who have made distinctive commitments and contributions to the service of others through participation in service activities via volunteer work, involvement in the church, and extraordinary professional accomplishments.
Escher, who will receive the award posthumously, served in various organizations, committees and church groups for many years and in many capacities. Most recently, Escher served on the Minneapolis Synod Candidacy Committee of the ELCA. As a member of that committee, Escher conducted one-on-one interviews with candidates who were preparing for ordained church ministry, and sat on panels that interviewed candidates along progressive stages of their seminary preparation. He was a mentor and friend to seminary students—often hosting them for dinner, praying for them, and visiting them at seminary and at their congregations.
Ruiters is the founder and executive director of Africa Jam, a Christian youth empowerment organization serving high school youth in Cape Town, South Africa. Ruiters’ work began as a volunteer in Cape Town by leading an after-school group at a high school in one of the poorest townships in the city. After the program grew from 50 students to nearly 1,000 in a one year span, Ruiters decided to start Africa Jam. Today, Africa Jam serves more than 10,000 youth annually through after-school programs at 22 different high schools.