Twenty-two Union College students and two faculty members departed Sunday, Dec. 3, for a second visit to New Orleans as part of a Habitat for Humanity clean-up and renovation project.
More than a year after Katrina ravaged the city, neighborhoods like St. Bernard's Parish, just east of the city, are still trying to rebuild. Camp Hope, a renovated elementary school in the Parish, was used as a dorm and staging area for the more than 9,000 volunteers who have passed through to help. The camp is staffed almost entirely by volunteers, a large constituency from AmeriCorps of South Carolina.
Union students were charged with documenting and recording their work in the hopes of producing a core of students who will continue the efforts each year. Accompanying them were Molly S. MacElroy, assistant director of Residential Life; Janet P. Grigsby, visiting associate professor of Sociology; and Gribsby's 23-year-old son, Matthew. Libby Johnson '08 and Meagan Keenan '09 volunteered for their second time.
Johnson participated as part of a peer ministry project arranged by Campus Protestant Minister and Interfaith Chaplain Viki J. Brooks-McDonald, who attended last year, met with Johnson weekly throughout the fall term to reflect, theologically, about what the experience would mean.
“Last year's trip inspired students to change their major and their life direction,” said Brooks-McDonald. “There's something about being immersed in the culture and doing service simultaneously that profoundly affects people.”
The week-long schedule included work on the St. Bernard's Recovery Project and the Habitat's Musician Village, a new housing project for displaced musicians. The Village was the brainchild of Harry Connick Jr. and the Marsalis brothers. When completed, it will include a music center named for the Marsalis brothers' father.
The $12,000 funding for the Union trip was paid by the same anonymous Union alumnus who funded last year's efforts. Lew Dubow, father of Risa Dubow '07, donated safety goggles, masks, gloves and other essential equipment. Dubow's NYC-based hardware supply company donated equipment after 9/11, and he was eager to contribute to this year's trip.
Brooks-McDonald said she hopes this is an ongoing College effort. “Students can benefit from both academic and service opportunities in New Orleans and elsewhere.”