By Jessica Booth
When you think of spring break, your thoughts usually include a tropical island, tons of sun and too much alcohol. For this infamous week of the year, college students take full advantage of going on vacation and doing nothing but having fun.
However, a few University students decided to make their spring break memorable in a different way. They volunteered their time to help repair New Orleans from the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina.
Even though the hurricane happened in 2005, New Orleans still needs an enormous amount of work done. The students in Hofstra Hillel, the organization for Jewish life on campus, wanted to help make a difference.
Eight students and one Hillel staff member spent the week working with Rebuilding Together, a company that helps to rebuild elderly people’s homes. It was Hillel’s third time sending a group of students to New Orleans and two of the students had volunteered before. Marissa Robbins, a Hillel staff member, went to New Orleans to be in charge of the group. University students weren’t the only ones in attendance. They joined forces with students from Hillel organizations from a variety of schools across the country.
“Sometimes it’s not good enough to just donate money, but your time is more important,” says Robbins. Actually being in New Orleans and helping seemed to be far more beneficial to students.
The students spent most of their time painting the houses that were being built or had been destroyed. They helped to make the city a place that people would want to come back to. They did mostly external work, but also did carpeting and attic work. They also helped build dorm rooms for the other volunteers to stay in while they helped out.
“It’s amazing that a city in the United States could be so impoverished,” says Michael Micucci, one of the students who went. “I wanted to help New Orleans get a sense of community.”
The students worked hard to make sure that they were making a difference. They stayed at Camp Coastal in Mississippi, a place for volunteers to stay. They traveled by bus for about an hour each day into Louisiana, waking up early and working all day long. They worked from 8:30 a.m. until about 4:30 p.m., with small breaks in between. They were prepared for anything.
“There would be these huge ladders and nobody would go on them because they were afraid of heights, but the Hofstra students did it,” says Robbins proudly. “They were okay with being out of their comfort zone because that’s what this trip was about.”
Years before when they had gone, they had spent most of their time gutting out the houses and sorting through people’s belongings. While painting houses may seem like a small step, it was something that made a big impact. The city was so demolished that it made people miserable to be there.
“The thing that shocked me was that there would be a brand new house and then five destroyed ones, all in a row,” says Micucci.
By painting the houses, the students helped make the city look more like home. “Nobody wants to live next to a house that’s completely isolated and destroyed,” Robbins said.
Everyone on the trip was surprised by how bad the city still looked. It almost seemed to them that no time had passed between that week and the hurricane.
“It was really disappointing to see so many people still living in trailers,” says Robbins. “I mean, they’ve been living in them for two-and-a-half years and their homes are still destroyed.”
The students who had gone previously were less surprised by the damage and were coming back because they knew how much help was still needed.
“When I left New Orleans last year I felt really uneasy with the situation,” says Michelle Suconick, one of the students who had gone. “I kind of felt like I had to go back. There were clothes everywhere and houses that hadn’t been touched since the hurricane. I made a promise to myself to keep coming back to New Orleans until I felt comfortable living there.”
Rabbi Mier Mitelman, one of the leaders of Hofstra Hillel, was thrilled that there were students going back for a second time. “It was just such a powerful experience for them the first time,” Rabbi Mitelman said. “They were very enthusiastic about going back and continuing their work there.”
“All I wanted was peace of mind,” Suconick adds. “I wanted to know that New Orleans was looking better because when I left last year it was in shambles.”
While in New Orleans, the students also learned a great deal about the hurricane and got to hear firsthand experiences from the people who had been there during the hurricane. Not only were there several speakers that came to talk to the group, but they also met a lot of families who lived in New Orleans.
“It was so great to meet the different people and families,” says Micucci. “It was great to see that there was actually progress being made, that families were going to live there again.”
The students talked about stories of meeting older people who described in detail exactly what had happened during the hurricane, not just what was on the news. Listening to the stories was a huge learning experience and helped the students understand a lot more about the hurricane. Hearing the stories motivated the students to do as much work as possible. They got to see the faces behind the tragedy.
“It was great when we met one of the ladies from the first house we worked on,” says Micucci. “She moved into her house the next week. It was very touching to talk to her. It was my first impression of the city.”
Because they were working with other Hillel students from around the country, the group was able to make many new friends. They all became very close with each other and realized how lucky they were to be in the position they were in.
“Giving back is something that I think people take for granted,” says Robbins.
The students became much more aware of how fortunate they were. The trip let the students reflect on how lucky they were to have houses and family members to go home to. Realizing this also made the students want to help out more often, not just in New Orleans, but to anyone who needs it.
Most of them had done volunteer work before the trip, but being surrounded by so much destruction in such an unlikely place made them realize how many people need help in the world. “It opened my eyes that you don’t need to go far to find people that need help, they can be in your own backyard,” says Micucci.
Being in New Orleans made such a big impact on the students that they made a pact to continue giving all the help they could. “We all made a promise to each other that we wanted to give back to the community about once a month from now on,” says Robbins. “To see what’s happening in New Orleans, there’s just so much more help we can give.”
To most of the students, going to New Orleans was one of the most positive experiences they had ever had. They got the chance to help people who need it the most and they got to learn so much about one of the worst natural disasters America has seen. The trip brought them closer together and created amazing friendships. They help send the message that just by being a little selfless and giving up some of your time to help others, you can make a big difference.
The Hofstra Hillel organization couldn’t be more proud of its members. “The student’s attitudes are just so inspiring,” says Rabbi Mitelman. “They have such big hearts. They could have been anywhere, in Cancun or resting – but they were down there working.”