Spring Break is a time to party in Mexico or relax in the Caribbean; or, in some cases, time to do Hurricane Katrina relief work in Louisiana.
The UMass Amherst Alternative Spring Break is sending 40 UMass students to New Orleans and Houma, La. to help with Hurricane Katrina relief work. For over 10 years the Alternative Spring Break organization has sent students from UMass around the country to do various types of community service projects. For the past two years, many students have jumped on the ASB bandwagon to help in the relief efforts post-Hurricane Katrina.
This year Kent Higgins, the organizer of the trip, has appointed senior Scott Grannemann as the new trip leader. Grannemann has been part of the hurricane relief effort both times the ASB participated, and says, “Being a group leader I have more responsibilities. I organize fundraising and promotions, and I need to basically make sure everything runs smoothly. But I have awesome co-leaders working with me, and they make things a lot easier.”
Grannemann and his seven co-leaders are in charge of teaching a two-credit class for the trip. Once a week students meet with their co-leaders and discuss specific readings. The students are also responsible for a 10 page paper after the trip is over.
At the beginning of spring break, 40 students and their co-leaders will pile into passenger vans and drive to Louisiana. Once down there the groups will stay in local churches. Because of preexisting connections with church groups from the area the cost of lodging is greatly decreased.
In total the trip only costs each student $200, which includes transportation, gas, food, lodging and textbooks for the class. The group will leave Amherst on Friday March 14 and will return on Sunday March 23. The trip will consist of about four and a half days of driving and five days of working.
After enduring hours upon hours of sitting on a bus comes the actual relief work. Grannemann says, “For the past few years we had been mostly gutting houses, but this year I hope to do more construction.”
There has been a lot of progress made to rebuild New Orleans, but there is still a lot of work to be done. “We need to look for changes this year,” says Grannemann, “Last year I visited the house we worked on in 2006, hoping that someone would have moved in and made some changes, but the house was exactly the same as we left it.”
Although it may seem at times that the efforts made aren’t amounting to much, there are many people down there working day and night to rebuild the city and the surrounding suburban areas. Changes and improvements are being made because of the work locals and nationwide volunteers are doing.
The trip may not seem like the riot house that one might experience in Cancun or Bermuda, but, like most community service trips, this one has its bright sides.
“It is a life changing experience. Not only did I meet some amazing people, but I got to help rebuild one of the most historical parts of our country,” says Grannemann. The group also gets a chance to talk to the homeowners and get feedback from other volunteers getting a real taste of what life was like before the disaster, “It’s tough because you can find food still left in fridges and family photos floating around. But, if I didn’t do it someone else would have to, and that might mean something else might not get done,” says Grannemann.
Don’t be intimidated by the emotional and physical labor of the Alternative Spring Break trip, because at the end of the day the group still finds time to play. After the day’s work of knocking down walls, removing ruined furniture and basically tearing down abandoned houses, the groups get together and discuss the day’s events. They call this sit down a “Process.” The group discusses their frustrations, funny or sad stories, and ways to make things run more smoothly.
Once the “process” is over, that’s when the group members get a chance to see the town. Because the trip is substance free, the extracurricular activities tend to be those of the sightseeing persuasion. But there are so many things to see including Bourbon Street, the French District and many other historical sights, that other substances aren’t necessary..
The co-leaders, Grannemann and Higgins have been working since the start of this semester to promote, raise money and organize this year’s trip. Grannemann says, “The whole thing is a huge process and takes a lot of time and hard work, but in the end it’s worth it. It’s such a unique experience, and you walk away with completely new perspective on life, and some great new friends.”
The ASB organization promotes the idea of students taking time out of their busy schedules to join in relief efforts across the country. The trip not only looks great on resumes, but it is also a once in a lifetime experience to do something for Americans in need.
Grannemann says, “The reason I joined during my sophomore year was because I wanted to be able to know that I did something to help after the country’s worst natural disaster. Any student who is able to go and do something for those who were affected should, because after college there aren’t as many opportunities to help.”
Emma Greed can be reached at [email protected]
