Katrina Relief Trip
Students and Director of Public Service Ave Bauder are currently preparing for another service trip to St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana over Spring Break. They will be working with Operation Helping Hands, a program of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. While there the group will be working to gut homes so that homeowners can begin to rebuild.
RAs and Athletes raise more than $2,000 for Hurricane Relief
In collections in the residence halls, RAs collected $1,065 for the Red Cross; $200 was collected at William Smith field hockey games and another $125 at a William Smith soccer game. Members of the Hobart Student-Athlete Advisory Council worked the stands and collected $729 during the Hobart vs. RPI football game.
First-Year Seminar on Hurricane Katrina
In the fall of 2006, a First-Year Seminar led by Political Science professor Cedric Johnson explored the causes and consequences of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast. This class included a service-learning component that involved a service trip to the area over fall break.
Five vs. Five Volleyball Tournament
KA for Katrina hosted a volleyball tournament on the field in front of Bristol Gym. The $25 per team entrance fee was contributed toward Hurricane Katrina Relief.
Academic Forum
As questions arose within the community, the Provost’s Office assisted in coordinating faculty-led discussion that detailed information ranging from environmental and economic impacts to psychological and medical concerns. The panel, called "Causes and Consequences," included comments from faculty members from geosciences, sociology, history, media and society, political science, economics and education.
Candlelight Gathering
A candlelight gathering at 10 p.m. on the steps of Coxe Hall to reflect on and commit to responding to the disaster.
Club Fair
The Center for Community Engagement and Service-Learning hosted an American Red Cross booth during the annual club fair, where students and community members signed up to volunteer for the local chapter’s Oktoberfest. 45 students were able to help. Sheets were available to sign up for the annual Halloween blood drive in the Barn. A donation jar was also set up for monetary donations.
Student Outreach
As part of a school-wide effort, Hobart and William Smith Colleges offered to assist any student whose education has been interrupted by the devastation. Those affected would have been admitted with visiting student status until they were able to return to their home institution.
American Red Cross Disaster Training
Twelve students along with community members were trained to be deployed to the Gulf Coast or other local or national disasters.
Hobart Basketball donated concession proceeds to the Red Cross
The members of the Hobart Basketball team, who run the concession stand at Boswell Field for Hobart Football games as a fundraiser for the team, decided to donate the rewards of their hard work to another cause. This season all proceeds from the concession operation for home football games was donated to the Red Cross to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
College Store
For the convenience of the community, the College Store accepted donations via credit and debit cards. Donations could also be dropped off at the Center for Community Engagement and Service-Learning in the Salisbury Center at Trinity Hall.
From January 6 - 14, 2007, fourteen HWS students gave up the end of their semester break to travel to St. Bernard Parish (County) in Louisiana with Director of Public Service Ave Bauder to work with Operation Helping Hands, part of Catholic Charities with the Archdiocese of New Orleans. St. Bernard is adjacent to the 9th Ward, just downriver from New Orleans. They stayed overnight at the Episcopal Cathedral in Louisville, KY on the way down and back.
When they arrived in Louisiana, the group was shocked at the extent of damage and the lack of progress four months after the hurricane had hit. They gutted houses back to the studs so that the wood could dry out and the owners rebuild. Of the 40,000 structures in the county, only 2 escaped damage. On Sunday the group finished two houses that had been started by a group from the University of Florida. Over the next four days they completely gutted two houses of their own.
The group slept and ate on a cruise ship docked in Violet that housed emergency workers and area residents and also served as a feeding site for the area. At the end of each day of work the group met for a reflection discussion. The sessions included remarks from the local Catholic priest who told stories from his parishioners’ experiences as well as one of the local county councilmen.
While in LA the group was visited by a Kevin Doran from WROC-TV in Rochester. They were featured in two stories, one on February 1st and the other on February 3rd. The group’s efforts were also noted by the St. Bernard Parish web newsletter.
Members of the group are available to community groups and organizations. They have spoken at a Faculty Lunch, an all-campus forum, and met with President Gearan at his house. They have also spoken to the Gorham and Geneva Rotary Clubs. They are urging others to contact their elected representatives to obtain more help for the Gulf. A sample letter to elected officials is located under “How to Help" on the lefthand side of this page. . Organizations interested in a presentation should contact Ave Bauder at bauder@hws.edu.
To date, the HWS total giving to the American Red Cross and other relief agencies and rocovery efforts via the Office of Public Service by students, alums, faculty and staff is $36,429.
For the latest American Red Cross relief information or to make a donation visit www.RedCross.org
If you choose to donate directly to the ARC please notify Ave Bauder in the Center for Community Engagement and Service-Learning of your gift, so we can track the HWS combined effort.
Why Does It Look Like Katrina Hit Yesterday? (PDF)