The final week of United Way's Alternative Spring Break is underway! Young adults from across the country have convened in Lake Charles, Louisiana to volunteer their spring breaks to help rebuild the Gulf coast after Hurricane Rita. United Way professionals such as myself and ASB veterans started off the week by going through extensive training involving; leadership skills, safety procedures, house rules and conflict management.
The following day, volunteers arrived by bus, train, car and airplane. Volunteers were given a tour of some of the most devastated areas of Southwest Louisiana to allow them see first hand the destruction and Mother Nature's power. First thing Monday morning, it was off to work.
Our day starts at 6:30 when lights go on and breakfast is served. Then groups of 7 participants load up in vans and head off to their respective job sites. My group along with two others were assigned to Ms. Lucy's house where torrential wind and rains tore off the roof and caused water damage through out the home.
Ms. Lucy is a great-grandmother who is diabetic and also in charge of raising her troubled teenage grandson. A blue tarp has served as her roof for more than two years and the result is rotten wood and mold throughout the structure. We have spent the last three days replacing the plywood on the inside and outside of the home, tearing out rotten rafters and trusses and re-roofing the home with new tar paper and shingles.
The focus of this project is to give volunteers a positive experience regarding volunteerism in general and the United Way system in particular, as well as to encourage them to remain active when they return to their own communities.
Well there are only two more days and still a lot of work left to do, so I better get going and I will keep you up to date!
Sincerely,
Brian D. Duchon
Sincerely,
Brian D. Duchon
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