Hurricane Florence was bad. You are good. Good people make the world better. Here is a chance to help people recover and get back in their homes.
It really is that simple.
When disaster strikes, people get hurt. Some lose loved ones, homes and jobs. It hurts to think about it, and it is sad to imagine it happening to you or your loved ones.
It happened again this past week in the southeastern United States. You can help these people who lost their homes and jobs while having fun and meeting great people, too!
BonaResponds was founded to respond after a disaster. Our first trip ever was on fall break in 2005 to Biloxi, Mississippi. We have made about 50 hurricane relief trips in the 13 years since Hurricane Katrina. This fall break, Oct.6 to 9, we will be going to Wilmington, North Carolina to help those affected by Hurricane Florence, and we need you to come with us.
You don’t need special skills or experience. You just need a good attitude and a willingness to help.
We do not have all the details yet, but we do know quite a bit for this soon after a disaster.
We have a place to sleep, shower and eat, thanks to the good people at the St. James Episcopal Church in Wilmington, North Carolina, especially Kathleen Flattery Abrams, a Bona Alumna that we worked with after Hurricane Sandy. The church was founded in 1729, almost 290 years ago, and is on a high point in Wilmington. We will use that as our base of operations.
Since it is a short break, we plan on flying, if at all possible. There is an airport that is open, and depending on fundraising in the coming weeks, we hope to be able to subsidize the cost of flights by at least $100. There may be a van driving down, too, depending on driver availability. It is open to students, parents, alumni, faculty, staff and especially to you!
We also hope to send tools down before the trip, if we have enough drivers. Anyone interested in driving would be greatly appreciated! Right now, drivers are my biggest worry.
Volunteers will need boots and work clothes, and we will provide the tools. We will have a meeting this Sunday at 6 p.m. in Swan to share any additional information. Please sign-up on BonaResponds.org for more information.org for more information.
BonaResponds Notes:
* This past Saturday was a great day! Our wonderful crew of volunteers constructed ramp #210.
* We received incredible pictures from Haiti this week as items we shipped were distributed. The most moving by far is that of a young boy sitting in a wheelchair in a BonaResponds shirt.
* A big thank you to Nate and Chris for their work on the trails through Bob’s Woods!
* This Saturday we will be working at 11:15 a.m. Come on out and help. We will be meeting at the BR trailer.
By Jim Mahar, Professor Columnist
jmahar@sbu.edu
