Spring Break+MHCC students = Katrina Relief

By Janice Tarlecki

Thoughts of spring break might bring visions of bikinis, boogie boards or sleeping late, but to at least 22 MHCC students, their choice is serving in New Orleans. Instead of spending nights in luxury hotels, they’ll be sleeping in tents and school gymnasiums, and Hard work, cleaning and re-building will replace sunbathing.

From March 25 through March 31, some MHCC students will join several hundred students from fraternities, sororities, athletic teams, religious groups, churches, and student clubs from all over the country and travel to New Orleans to participate in this group effort. Anyone may participate in this low structure, low cost, high-fun, high-impact experience.

Campus Crusade for Christ is partnering with Habitat for Humanity to send a team of MHCC students to help plant trees, tear down damaged homes and build new houses for hurricane evacuees. “Campus Crusade is a national university club sponsoring this community service project, but they want to open it up to other groups and any individuals,” said MHCC student David Knepprath, one of the co-leaders. “Come as you are and join in to make a difference in people’s lives,” said Knepprath.

Several partner organizations are eager for the help, according to Dan Franklin, college pastor at Good Shepherd Community Church and MHCC Campus Crusade Sponsor. “Tulane University has requested our help to clean out homes of professors and public schools nearby. The University of New Orleans has asked us to plant new trees around campus to replace the devastation to the landscape caused by Katrina,” Franklin said.

“Habitat for Humanity needs our help to reach the goal of building hundreds of new homes as well,” added Franklin. “Many relief organizations have materials and money – but they lack the manpower to get the job done. We will become ‘hands and feet’ to bring physical, emotional and spiritual relief to the residents of this region,” he said.
Desire Street Ministries in the Ninth Ward has requested help to clean 800 homes that were flooded. The conditions are still “horrendous, and many are still homeless, or living in squalor,” according to the latest reports from the Katrina relief website, at www.Katrinarelief.org.

“Our goal over spring break,” says Travis Todd, Campus Crusade Relief Coordinator, “is to re-build at least 200 of the homes we’ve cleaned. Students will work alongside skilled contractors to install new electrical and plumbing systems and new sheetrock.” The students will stay in schools or in a tent city with feeding stations, warm showers, meeting places and toilets. In addition to serving in the city, they will have the chance to help cook meals and keep the camp running.

In the first four months after Katrina hit, Campus Crusade sent more than 4,000 students and staff from 132 colleges into the disaster zone. The students invested more than 10,000 work days. They distributed 50,000 meals and cleaned out more than 700 flooded homes.

Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast on Aug. 29, 2005, and in seven days the storm surge wrought catastrophic damage along the coastlines of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. When the levees from Lake Ponchartrain breached, the flooding overtook New Orleans, leaving thousands of homeless, and many dead, in what is now being called the deadliest and costliest hurricane in U.S. history.

Over 1,500 people are known to have been killed, and many still unaccounted for.
President Bush was quoted on the Katrina Relief Web site: “It’s essential for the many organizations of our country to reach out to your fellow citizens in the Gulf area, so that families anywhere in the country can help families in the region, or a school can support a school. And I challenge existing organizations -- churches, and Scout troops, or labor union locals to get in touch with their counterparts in Mississippi, Louisiana, or Alabama, and learn what they can do to help. In this great national enterprise, important work can be done by everyone, and everyone should find their role and do their part.”

Campus Crusade and MHCC students will work in teams every day, return for dinner, and enjoy a laid back evening with music, conversation, informal meetings and rest.
Asked about his involvement in this project, MHCC student Josh “Sparky” Bergh said, “I’ve talked to quite a few people who have gone on relief trips already and they had an awesome time helping others. I will most definitely be going.

“The collaboration with other Oregon and national universities is going to be quite exciting,” said Bergh.

Asked why he would give up his spring break to do this, freshman Robert Clifton said, “It seems like a cool thing to do, to help other people. I’m looking forward to meeting students from all over, and making a difference in lives.”

According to Rick Amos, coordinator of Katrina relief efforts for Campus Crusade, “In New Orleans, we have the opportunity to serve many different organizations. While helping meet the physical needs of people whose homes have been destroyed students are also meeting the spiritual and emotional needs of residents as they demonstrate their love and share a message of hope and comfort.”

Founded in 1951, Campus Crusade for Christ is one of the largest interdenominational organizations in the world and is active on 1,298 colleges through out America.
Its goal is to help bring the reality of Jesus to the college students of America and the world.

The MHCC Campus Crusade Club meets on Wednesdays at noon in room 1609, and participates in many different events year-round.

Students need to provide their own air transportation, which will be the most expensive part of the trip, at approximately $400. Fund raising will help with the costs.

The cost of seven nights lodging, food and amenities will be $70, but will be reduced to $30, if students register by March 10 at the website campuscrusadeforchrist.com or through Campus Crusade advisor Dan Franklin.
The MHCC groups will be doing a lot of fundraising, and getting financial support from multiple organizations. “This will bring down the cost significantly if someone is not able to raise the full amount. We want to give everyone an opportunity to serve, and stress to not let money be a factor. Cost can be worked out,” said Knepprath.

Another information meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 1, at noon in Room 1609. This is not a mandatory meeting, but strongly suggested for those going on the trip.
Some guest speakers who have experienced post-Katrina New Orleans first hand will be sharing their thoughts, pictures, stories, and suggestions to help mentally and physically prepare the volunteers. They will also go over essential items to pack for the trip.

Campus Crusade is setting up a blog for MHCC to use as an outlet for connecting with people and to post personal stories and pictures from the trip.