Students and community members can have fun while helping charity at Oktoberfest.

The Oktoberfest will have games, music, croquet and bags to raise money for St. Hedwig Haus of Hospitality, a project aimed at building a home for families.

The festival is taking place to raise funds for the St. Hedwig Haus of Hospitality and to educate the community about the ministry and the work they have done.

Oktoberfest will kick off at noon Sunday at the Newman Catholic Center.

The Center will also have the Waterloo German Band perform from 6 to 7 p.m. on Sunday.

The St. Hedwig Haus of Hospitality was started by the students at the Newman Catholic Center who wanted to provide a home for single mothers and their children who could not afford their housing and bills.

Last year a retired Eastern faculty member gave a generous donation of $50,000 to the Newman Catholic Center specifically for a project of this nature, said Roy Lanham, director of the Newman Catholic Center.

This was enough to start up the project, but it was quickly jump-started when they received an anonymous donation of $100,000. The donation combined with the $50,000 was enough to buy a house and begin working on it.

“God’s grace has been hard at work in all of this,” Lanham said.

Terry Coulton, a member of the board of directors for St. Hedwig Haus of Hospitality, said they plan on welcoming their first guests, a mother and her two children, into the house today.

Steve Joebgen, a member of the board of directors for St. Hedwig Haus of Hospitality, said he will be living in the house to help manage the house, receive phone calls, take donations and deal with other business.

Joebgen will be joined by two other students who will live in the house along with a group of volunteers who will help manage the house during the day.

The students will help clean, cook and perform other tasks around the house.

Lanham said the house is mostly furnished and most of the furniture was provided through donations from students and the community.

The festival will take place from noon to 8 p.m. at the Newman Catholic Center.

Lanham said the ministry hopes to see members from the Charleston community at the fair as well.

Amy Schniers can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].