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from the issue of December 15, 2005
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Faculty, staff, students to aid hurricane cleanup
BY KELLY BARTLING, UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
While most students are enjoying a post-holiday break, 76 UNL students and 18 faculty/staff will be at work near Waveland, Miss., cleaning up and helping hurricane victims rebuild their lives.
On Jan. 1, two buses will begin a 20-plus-hour trip to the northern Gulf of Mexico - an area especially hard-hit during Hurricane Katrina in August - for a four-day service-learning trip.
The service trip is the first from UNL since the devastating hurricanes, and an unprecedented collaboration on a service trip by a coalition from the Association for Campus Religious Workers, Innocents Society, Student Involvement, Student Affairs and UNL faculty and staff, according to Julie Dierberger, program coordinator for Service-Learning and Volunteer Services for UNL.
Dierberger said the student response to the hurricanes was quick and large.
"Immediately, a coalition began to form and people started saying 'let's get together and harness the students' enthusiasm and engagement and help them put it to use,'" Dierberger said. A student-group poll on Blackboard in September gauged students' interest and discovered a preference for a winter-break trip.
"There was a definite push on campus for something to happen, and if we could make it happen by winter break then that's what we were all going to do," she said.
Signups for student volunteers began in November. Volunteer trip leaders were sought from faculty and staff, and a waiting list has emerged in addition to 18 confirmed going.
Through the Midwest Consortium for Service-Learning in Higher Education, a connection was established with Learn and Serve America, and a commitment made to attend iCare Village at Waveland, a city of some 6,600 former residents east of New Orleans. The care village houses as many as 900 volunteers, providing food, laundry, bathrooms, medical care and communications access.
Dierberger said students and faculty/staff trip leaders will receive training and leadership on work the group will contribute: cleanup, light construction, meal preparation and other service.
"Before students go, they've had information session, and before they depart we'll meet at the Union where students will again get information and team-building," Dierberger said. "We're also using a Blackboard site to share articles and information and will have access to videotapes on the way down to watch for training."
In addition to oversight and direct labor, faculty/staff trip leaders will help engage students in "purposeful reflection" activities to make sure learning moments and opportunities aren't unexplored. Dierberger said students will be writing diaries and letters to themselves to encourage personal reflection on their experience.
Because of fund-raising efforts and cost-saving measures, the trip will cost students $150 each; faculty/staff costs are covered and these employees will receive release time for their participation.
"We've just had a great amount of support from everyone on this project," Dierberger said. "It's really important to recognize the faculty and staff efforts and those of the administration for their support on this. It's an exciting project and the students are grateful for a chance to serve so we're glad to be helping harness that spirit."
For more information, go online http://si.unl.edu/katrina.
GO TO: ISSUE OF DECEMBER 15
NEWS HEADLINES FOR DECEMBER 15
Titans Unwrapped
Brown begins titan unveiling
Faculty, staff, students to aid hurricane cleanup
Group paves way for mammoth return
Hunhoff to address graduates
FROM THE ARCHIVES
POINSETTIA ROUND-UP
Rec center offers exercise options for faculty, staff
Red Carpet Service can boost community image, tourism potential
University's teaching beef herd offers hands-on learning
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