ELCA NEWS SERVICE
March 14, 2007
Lutheran Students Bring Hope to the U.S. Gulf Coast
07-034-MRC
NEW ORLEANS (ELCA) -- Dressed in white a hard hat with a
respirator over her face, Lisa Evans, a senior at Valparaiso
University, Valparaiso, Ind., said, "We're here to bring hope.
We can make a big difference in just one week." Standing in
front of a Hurricane Katrina-damaged house March 5 in New
Orleans, Evans joined more than 800 college and university
students participating in "What a Relief!" during the 2007 spring
break.
What a Relief! is an opportunity for students and others in
campus communities to spend their spring break helping survivors
of the 2005 hurricane season rebuild. Lutheran Disaster Response
is organizing What a Relief! Students participating in What a
Relief! this year represent some 34 U.S. colleges and
universities, 13 of which are affiliated with the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). They're working in Alabama,
Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas between February 25 and
March 31.
With eight other students and two adult advisors from
Valparaiso, Evans "gutted out" houses March 5-9 in the New
Orleans area. Valparaiso is an independent Lutheran university.
"I came down last year and saw how much of an effect we made
in just a matter of a couple of days. We got to meet the
homeowners of the house we worked on, and I (witnessed) the
difference we had made. So, I just wanted to come back again
this year."
Evans said her volunteer experiences with What a Relief!
"really opened my eyes. The world isn't as bad as we may think.
People really do care, and you can help somebody else."
"What a Relief! is a great thing," according to Jessica
Vermilyea, Metairie, La., state coordinator for Lutheran Disaster
Response -- a ministry of the ELCA and Lutheran Church-Missouri
Synod (LCMS). "It gives so much credence to what (Lutherans) are
doing here. It gives the ability (for people to understand) what
we're going through here, so they can go back home and share the
experience with other people," she said.
"The majority of our volunteers are repeat volunteers. We
depend upon them to make connections with homeowners here. It's
not just about the house, it's about the person. When (students)
make those connections, they go home and share it with family or
with other students. They (develop) a passion for (volunteer
work). So, it really has been a big boost to have such a large,
national effort to bring people here," said Vermilyea.
Keith Aumend, senior, Valparaiso University, is a repeat
participant in What a Relief! In 2006 "we worked in New Orleans'
Ninth Ward, right next to the levees. That was one of the
greatest experiences in my life. I've never experienced (a
disaster) so earth-shattering. (It was) that experience that
instigated me to come back here again. Also, I'm from Florida,
and I've been through many, many hurricanes. I've seen a lot of
damage happen. But when I saw what happened here, I knew that we
really had to get in and help people, because (help) is just not
coming fast enough for them."
Aimee Tomasek, assistant professor of art, photography,
Valparaiso University, helped to "round up" the group of students
from Valparaiso for 2007 What a Relief! "I've been photographing
New Orleans for about 14 years," said Tomasek. "When (Hurricane)
Katrina hit I was very affected, because I have a lot of friends
in the city, and it was a logical choice to come and help."
Tomasek said volunteer work "is a very humbling experience
and also a great teaching device because my students, for the
most part, don't know how to do any handy carpentry work," said
Tomasek. "The motivation of the trip is education," she said.
"New Orleans is always the (point) of ridicule in terms of
morality. People kind of see this town as a den of sin, and it's
not. There are people who live here that are no different than
people in other places. They raise their families here, have
good values, go to church, help their neighbors, and invest in
cultural and ethnic events. I think that's very often lost,
based on what we see on television. I want to teach my students
that this place is no different than other places when it comes
to issues related to family, taking care of your neighbors and
being a good citizen." Tomasek said.
Through What a Relief! more than 40 students and adult
advisors from Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa, worked March 5-9
in New Orleans and Slidell, La. Wartburg is one of 28 college
and universities of the ELCA.
"I'm learning a lot about technical construction work, such
as installing windows and repairing exterior wall frames," said
Jessie Carver, a junior at Wartburg. Carver said this is her
third trip to the U.S. Gulf Coast. "My first two trips were
spent mucking out homes. On this trip, it's exciting to see
actual rebuilding work taking place. It's amazing to be part of
this process," she said. About 10 percent of Wartburg's student
body is engaging in some kind of volunteer work across the
country during the 2007 spring break, Carver said.
Aaron Hagen, a senior at Wartburg, is writing about the work
of his peers for the school's newspaper, "The Wartburg Trumpet."
Roland Ferrie, a student photographer from Wartburg, is
accompanying Hagen.
"Our goal is to inspire more students from Wartburg to
volunteer in the U.S. Gulf Coast," said Hagen. "There is still a
lot of work to be done here. Many students at Wartburg don't
quite grasp how rewarding this work can be. (Through our
stories), we want to let students know that people can make a
difference," he said.
At the start of a work week, students are led through
devotions and an orientation about what to expect during their
volunteer experience, work safety tips, instruction on the
recommended safety apparel and gear, and more. Kurtis Smith,
manager of "Camp Atonement," Metairie, La., encourages students
and other volunteers to "hear the stories" that homeowners and
other Louisiana residents have to share.
"The role I have here is to make sure that our volunteers
are housed and equipped for the work that is to be done," said
Smith. Camp Atonement is equipped to house 72 volunteers. It
includes mobile bed accommodations, an outdoor dining tent and a
work supplies tent. It is located on the property of Atonement
Lutheran Church, an LCMS congregation.
"New Orleans has a way to go in rebuilding, and it's the
volunteers that spend their time, energy and money to be here to
bring hope. (Volunteers) are the ones bringing Jesus into the
community by doing the work, whether it be gutting or rebuilding
a house," he said.
Smith said many people across the United States "don't
realize that there's still much work to do, and we continue to
need people of all shapes and sizes and skills to come down and
help." He said people are needed in camps, either to clean or
cook for the volunteers that stay there, and highly skilled
laborers are needed to work on plumbing, electrical work, roofing
and anything else in between.
Other LDR volunteer camps in the New Orleans area include
Bethlehem Volunteer Center, New Orleans East; Christ the King
Lutheran Church, Kenner, La., a congregation of the ELCA; and
"Dove of Peace Mission Center," located at Peace Lutheran Church,
Slidell, La., a congregation of the ELCA.
- - -
Information about the work of Lutheran Disaster Response and
how to volunteer is available at http://www.ldr.org on the Web.
Audio of Vermilyea's comment is at
http://media.ELCA.org/audionews/070309b.mp3 and of Smith's
comment is at http://media.ELCA.org/audionews/070309a.mp3
on the ELCA Web site.
Photographs to accompany this story are at
http://www.elca.org/news/photos/0703Students.html
on the ELCA Web site.
DOMESTIC DISASTERS:
Editors: When listing organizations receiving funds to aid
survivors of major disasters inside the United States, Puerto
Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands, please include:
ELCA Domestic Disaster Response, P.O. Box 71764, Chicago,
Illinois 60694-1764
Credit card gift line: 1-800-638-3522
Credit card gifts via Internet:
http://www.ELCA.org/disaster/katrina
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
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