 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Christopher's Story Overcoming the challenge of autism to find a job where his talents shine .... MORE |
 |
 |
|
What's New |
Calendar of Events |
Government Relations
Subscribe to E-News | Press Releases | Photo Gallery | Spotlight Archive
Four young Cleveland-area women spent their spring break making a difference for people in hurricane-damaged parts of Louisiana. Megan Tindira of United Way of Greater Cleveland, Ashley Williams, Deidre Hawkins of Cleveland State University and Shenai Speares of Cuyahoga Community College volunteered for a second year and went to Lake Charles, Louisiana, to participate in United Way of America's Alternative Spring Break. Megan, Ashley, Deidre and Shenai returned this year to Louisiana the week of March 8-15 to help with hundreds of other college-age volunteers to clean up and rebuild areas still devastated in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Along with other ASB volunteers, the girls bunked at United Way of Southwest Louisiana's Volunteer Housing Center in Lake Charles, a sprawling but lightly populated city near the Gulf Coast. We spoke with Megan and Ashley about their ASB experiences this year. Here are their stories: 
Megan's Story"When Hurricane Rita hit Holly Beach on the edge of Cameron Parish in 2005, it was ground zero for the storm," says Megan. "In comparison, Lake Charles, which is about an hour's drive away, is for the most part put back together, although there are still a lot of FEMA trailers and trailer parks in town. The federal government is just now starting to charge rent to people still living in the trailers as an incentive to move out." Desolation Persists "But down in Cameron Parish, it's pretty desolate. I didn't see many people moved back there as yet. In a typical day, we'd eat breakfast at the Volunteer Housing Center and get on the road by 7:30 in the morning for the drive from Lake Charles to the areas in Cameron Parish where we'd work." "We did general cleanup work -- for example, clearing away debris at the site where an apartment complex had been destroyed by the hurricane. There was all sorts of building debris -- pipes, siding, wood, and also personal items such as cribs, strollers, pictures, dishes, lamps, kids' bikes -- but all this stuff was broken and water-damaged. None of it could be salvaged. We piled it up to be hauled away." "We also spent several days at a school in Hackberry, a little town in Cameron Parish, hauling mulch onto a children's playground. We met the school's principal and other staff members and talked with them about the storm." "The volunteers in my group were from New Jersey, Virginia, Illinois and Michigan. They were a great bunch of college kids -- really energetic. We moved tons of wet mulch for three days…they worked hard; they wanted to be there to help and make a difference." When Alligators Attack! Well, not quite. "The last day we were in Cameron Parish, my team was working at a wildlife refuge picking up trash. I got the chance to photograph some alligators while I was there. We also got to see a big dead gator up real close." Ugh. Ashley's Story Back for a second year to the Lake Charles area, Ashley Williams was joined by two other returning volunteers and friends, Deidre Hawkins and Shenai Speares. "This year, my team participated in the demolition of several houses and a garage," says Ashley. "We also helped restore storm-damaged homes. We did some roofing, installed drywall and painted." "Although we did a lot of work, we also had a lot of fun…this experience makes lifetime friends of fellow volunteers. I really loved it because you get together with other young adults to do something you all like to do, helping out people, instead of just wasting spring break lying on a beach. I definitely recommend Alternative Spring Break to any young person interested in volunteer work that makes a difference in the lives of others." Ashley's Alternative Spring Break experience has sparked an interest in her to volunteer for another humanitarian project in the near future -- one that might even involve traveling abroad. You go, girl. ASB's National Program Altogether, some 600 Alternative Spring Break volunteers from across the nation gave a combined 23,575 hours of community service work from late February through March 2008 in the Gulf Coast and Detroit, Michigan. In Louisiana alone, 12,600 hours of volunteer service there repaid over $285,000 of the state's debt to the federal government for emergency assistance. If you're a young person in the Greater Cleveland area interested in participating in Alternative Spring Break 2009, or would like to find out about volunteer public service opportunities right here in your community, please contact Nicole Langlois at 216-436-2184 or nlanglois@uws.org. |
|