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Currents: spring break

Club Members Learn about Themselves as They Help Others

By LuAnne Ryall

A group of Colby-Sawyer students, along with four staff members, took part in the Community Service Club's second Alternative Spring Break (ASB) visit to the Gulf Region of the United States to assist people (and animals) in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. These students included Janine DeSerres, ASB coordinator and co-president; John Bryan, co-president; Nicole Kenney, Mason Law, Danielle Howard, Carl Herz, Mike Martone, Sarah Heaney, Pam Bohanan, Ashlee Willis, Lynn Williams and Michelle Isner. Ashley Ryall of Connecticut College also participated. Club Advisor LuAnne Ryall led the group, with chaperones and Colby-Sawyer staff Tarren Bailey, Pam Sanborn and Teresa Gallagher. LuAnne Ryall tells their story.

I was taught that every story has a beginning, middle and an end. Frankly, I'm not sure this story can conform to that structure. Yes, this year's Alternative Spring Break trip to the New Orleans' St Bernard's Parish is over, but that isn't anywhere near the end of this story.

In many ways, it seems like the conclusion of this service trip has actually initiated more activity, personal reflection, meaningful conversations and developing relationships. “This trip was an eye-opening experience,” Danielle Howard '09 confessed. “It helped me to realize how blessed that I truly am and that I should never take what I have for granted.” What could have happened in eight days to provoke such a powerful response?

A Convergence of Volunteers

Just before midnight on March 10, after a full day of traveling, our group of 13 students and four adults arrived at Camp Hope in Violet, La., - a short distance from the heart of New Orleans. The camp had been created by AmeriCorps and Habitat for Humanity from a large elementary school that had been swamped during the hurricane. We arrived a day earlier than, what we were soon to discover, nearly 700 other volunteers from all over the country.

Arriving early gave us a day to explore some of the area's unique culture. Sunday, we headed up to Slidel, La., just across Lake Pontchartrain, for a Cajun swamp tour.

Captain Claude deftly navigated the marshy waterscape to show us where the alligators hang out and breed (they've all been given names), where mother ducks hide their babies in hollowed-out sycamore trees, the favorite sunning haunts of snakes, and the geographic changes in the swamp's configuration due to the powerful wave surges.

Our ride to and from Slidel revealed that much reconstruction had been done to the highways and major roads, but there were still areas we passed through that didn't show a glimmer of light, as there was still no electricity.

Using a Mapquest map to get back to the camp that night, we discovered that a road we took was still washed out, and we had to retrace our path. Many roads are still impassable, and I wondered why, after 18 months, national maps didn't reflect this reality. Each little piece takes time - more time than we sometimes think.

Now back to the 700+ volunteers. Camp Hope coordinators stated that they expected just under 400 volunteers the week we planned to be there. Everyone was surprised when coach buses kept arriving with college students eager to assist in the rebuilding effort. By Sunday night, the facility was at capacity and some of the “facilities” were beyond capacity.

Rather than joining the throngs of students standing in line to pound nails or miter the corners of a couple 2 x 4's, our group collaborated with the work coordinator from Habitat to provide some much needed assistance to local businesses and organizations.

We signed up to work in the community of St. Bernard's Parish right alongside community members. Although skeptical at first and a little sad that power tools weren't going to be in our agenda, our volunteers quickly recalled why they had come in the first place.

“I realized that our initial mission was to lead and serve [but it] eventually bloomed into a mission to listen and empathize. Talking with the inhabitants . . . is something I will never forget,” Ashley Ryall, reflected.

Getting Down to Work

Our work assignments varied and included the following assignments:

  • Seven members spent 1 ½ days at a local animal shelter then ½ day at The Mustard Seed Distribution Center, near Camp Hope.

  • The other 10 members committed to cleaning up and organizing a warehouse of clothing and supplies stockpiled at the Civic Center.

  • A group of six joined The Saint Bernard Project, dedicated to rebuilding and supporting the parish's neighborhoods, by sheet- rocking Henry's house.

  • The culminating project happened on Friday at St. Bernard Parish's Distribution Center, where many team members had devoted their entire week. The whole group gathered on this final day to hand out food and clothing to community members.

So that's the general setting. Here are the details that made all the difference.

Everywhere we went - from Rocky and Carlos' local eatery to CVS and each job site - people thanked us with touching sincerity. They complimented our work ethic and willingness to give up a spring break in the sun to get dirty and sweaty for someone else's benefit.

Our “bosses” all remarked on the initiative our members took to get things done. Sodexho's Mamma T, one of our chaperones, put it this way: “As a chaperone on many of life's excursions, I have been the proudest [to be with] the Community Service Club members . . . they overwhelm people with their grace and willingness to help. That's why they are always welcomed back.”

After the “thank you's” and accolades were done, though, parish neighbors looked us in the eyes and pleaded, “Don't forget about us next year or the year after. There is so much more to be done down here.”

The Dogs Come Out

A group of six of us headed off Monday morning to St Bernard's Parish Animal Shelter. We were told to jump right in because the shelter staff wasn't used to having volunteers and may not know what to have us do.

After checking in and hearing an overview of the shelter's history, we took the initiative to exercise the dogs. We quickly learned, however, which ones weren't from Mr. Roger's neighborhood.

Nicole's sweet, fuzzy mix and my stocky lab mix “mixed” it up a bit in the first few minutes. Their animal control officer intervened, adding clear instructions regarding which animals don't like other ones. Being quick learners, we worked together to make sure the 15 dogs each got their freedom in the sun.

Nicole, an animal lover, sums up the experience perfectly: “Working at the St. Bernard Parish Animal Shelter was such unforgettable experience. Although it was very hard and dirty work [cleaning out cages], I wouldn't have traded it for anything. Each dog had such a unique personality and had so much love to give despite what some of them have been through."

There was nothing more rewarding than giving the dogs the opportunity to just be themselves, to romp around in the grass, sniff everything they came across, and to enjoy playing ball in the nice warm sunshine. It was extremely hard to put them back in their cages after allowing them so much freedom, and it was even more heart-breaking to leave the shelter the second day knowing that would be the last time we would see our new friends again.

Fortunately, the shelter has a “no kill” policy, so if the scruffy, blind old black Scotty mix doesn't get adopted like some of the puppies did while we were there, he'll be able to enjoy the love of the shelter attendants for his remaining days.

The Mustard Seed

After working a half day at the Animal Shelter, part of the group went over to the Mustard Seed Distribution Center. This center was in a small room located in the front of the Camp Hope gymnasium building. This center was created for the locals who live around the Camp as opposed to the civic center, which was for the entire parish.

“I was surprised by how little it was, and the amount of food they could offer the public. It was the bare essentials. A can of green beans, a box of spaghetti, a jar of sauce, and some peanut butter and jelly. “Mama Sue,” who runs the center, said that they are in need of some serious donations in the form of gift certificates, as they are easier to ship, Janine observed.

Henry's House

The St. Bernard Project is a grassroots nonprofit organization that provides direct rebuilding, financial and community support to families in St. Bernard Parish, La., who were displaced and devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

During the week, a group of six worked on the home of a man named Henry. We spent two days sheet rocking the interior walls of his home. Henry was told, like so many others, that he did not need flood insurance.

In saving the $1,800 per year on insurance, he and his family lost everything, including their up-and-coming business and equipment. Since the week we were there, Henry's house is coming close to completion and is currently in need of absolutely everything, including a kitchen sink.

Distributing the Donations

The hurricane dumped water onto the parish with mind-boggling volume. Rescuers ducked under traffic lights as their boats searched for stranded victims. The Civic Center filled to the second floor. Water was still standing in the alcoves of the balcony the week we were there - 18 months later.

Donations poured in from across the world, and the area faced the new challenge of where to put them and how to distribute them. As the huge Civic Center dried out, boxes, pallets of supplies, and truckloads of provisions piled up and up and up - filling the entire stage and backrooms, sometimes six feet high.

Although a couple groups had volunteered at the Civic Center, now called St. Bernard's Parish Distribution Center, the enormity of the task sent them packing after half a day. When our ten team members arrived, they rolled up their sleeves, powered up the folk lift, and dug into the boxes.

Some or the boxes the group encountered were falling apart with mold due leaky ceilings and contained damp clothing; some cartons were crushed and contents had to be tossed, and other unpacked goods were mice- and rat-infested. Nonetheless, the room filled with supplies that could help the community and our team intended to get it to them.

Kathy Bayham and her assistant, Lexie, supervised the distribution center. As our team sorted through the goods, they listened to the ladies' stories and got a glimpse of what it the last 18 months had been like. The relationships forged with these women, as well as those developed at the other work sites, cultivated empathy and appreciation for one's own comforts.

Tarren smiled broadly when asked about the last day of work, “On Friday, we were lucky enough to come to the center early to see the townspeople lined up waiting to get in.” The team handed out food and cleaning supplies, found just the right toys for the children, and sorted through the clothes they had sized to find just what the families needed.

"Mamma T put an outfit together and hung it on the end of the rack and a customer quickly snatched it up. Competition immediately arose among the group for who could assemble the most stylish outfits. Tarren, who unpacked and sorted through so many of the items, really knew her inventory. She plucked a blouse from one area and a pair of size 7 black pants from another, accessorizing them with a jacket and belt from yet other racks."

An elderly gentleman walked to the center pushing a grocery cart and was collecting his energy to start the trek back home when a couple of our group volunteered to load him and his goods in our van and drive him home. Other team members carried boxes of goods to people's cars as they asked to hear about what had happened to them during the disaster. “It was an amazing feeling knowing our group made it possible for them to have a much larger selection of goods available for them to choose from,” Tarran added.

Early that Friday afternoon, Kathy and Lexie closed the center's doors for the day. We said our goodbyes, knowing that it was really “see you later!” That's they way everyone felt as we pulled away from the center and people (and animals) that captured our hearts.

Finding Meaning

I didn't start at the beginning with this story - those first six months filled with research, analysis, evaluation, opinionated discussions and details, details, details. Like in a well-choreographed dance, the audience doesn't care about the blisters, bruises and frustrations. Maybe the audience doesn't care, but each setback, detour, difference of opinion, and unexpected piece of information is just as integral to our story as the actual service.

The way each ASBer chose to handle the planning challenges and trip experiences contributed to his/her self identity. Alternative Spring Break, after all, is about learning about oneself by being immersed in a community different from one's own.

These experiences give depth to social issues in a way that sitting in a classroom never could. They challenge participants to step out of their comfort zones and consider others' needs over their own ~ that included trip mates just as much as the community members receiving service.

One student shared her philosophy that ”If your going to commit to something, make sure you leave doing the best you could have done and that you've left an impression.”

On Friday, April 27, the ASB group presented a DVD at the First Baptist Church in New London, N.H. Family, friends, and community members stepped into our experience for a few minutes. The ASB participants answered questions and shared how they had been impacted by this experience.

People wanted to know if we will be going back next year. We don't know for sure, but there is an excitement brewing to put a return trip together for this summer. John pointed out that Kathy Bayham is willing to put us up in FEMA trailers. Now there's an interesting prospect.

This story was published courtesy of The Colby-Sawyer Courier, where it was first published. The story includes contributions by Tarren Bailey '06, who also took many of the photographs.

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