{"id":9421,"date":"2015-07-13T12:01:32","date_gmt":"2015-07-13T16:01:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/?p=9421"},"modified":"2015-09-24T14:32:27","modified_gmt":"2015-09-24T18:32:27","slug":"sustaining-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/?p=9421","title":{"rendered":"Sustaining Service"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Members
Members of TCNJ\u2019s Alternative Break Club painted homes in New Orleans last spring.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina nears, TCNJ students continue to make the 22-hour road trip to the Big Easy to help residents there rebuild. They have no plans of stopping until the recovery is complete.<\/p>\n

Forsaking spring breaks and senior weeks during the past decade, more than 1,000 TCNJ students have restored or rebuilt more than 100 homes in the low-lying, low-income areas hardest hit by Katrina, says Brittany Aydelotte, a coordinator who organized many of the trips for TCNJ\u2019s Bonner Institute for Civic and Community Engagement. The students have also refurbished city parks and playgrounds, served at nonprofits, and helped rehabilitate wetlands to lessen the impact of future hurricanes on the Gulf Coast area.<\/p>\n

A 2009 graduate of the college, Aydelotte volunteered in New Orleans twice as a student and has returned seven times since as a staff member. \u201cBeing there every year, I\u2019ve been able to see the difference, the improvement,\u201d she says. With each trip, she also sees eagerness spark in a new group of students, much as it did for her that first time.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir initial response is excitement about the city and the culture,\u201d says Aydelotte. \u201cThen we tour the city, and as they see how much work remains to be done, their excitement turns to sadness, frustration, and anger. But as they begin to build, their hope returns as they hear homeowners\u2019 stories and see how thankful they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of those homeowners, 33-year-old Juanita Hamilton, lived with relatives and in a FEMA trailer when her house was destroyed during Katrina. Students helped her rebuild in 2008. \u201cTo see them take time from their lives to help me get back into my house had a huge emotional impact. It showed who really cared,\u201d says Hamilton.<\/p>\n

\u201cHearing those stories provides meaning for our labor,\u201d says Dominick \u201cD.J.\u201d Josso-Martin, a 2015 graduate who volunteered in New Orleans each of the last four years. \u201cMy time there taught me so many lessons, but more than anything it showed me the importance of community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Year after year, TCNJ students have returned to help the displaced get back into their homes. That won\u2019t change, says Aydelotte.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe passion to serve has been passed down from student group to student group,\u201d she says. \u201cThis is a campuswide commitment.\u201d
\n\u2014Susan Cousins Breen<\/p>\n

\n

TCNJ service in post-Katrina New Orleans<\/strong><\/p>\n

17<\/h2>\n

Trips to New Orleans during the last decade<\/p>\n

32<\/h2>\n

Neighborhoods served<\/p>\n

100+<\/h2>\n

Homes built<\/p>\n

1,000+<\/h2>\n

Student volunteers<\/p>\n

13,700+<\/h2>\n

Hours worked<\/p>\n

\n

Katrina\u2019s impact on New Orleans<\/strong><\/p>\n

Population before<\/h2>\n

484,000<\/p>\n

Population after<\/h2>\n

230,000<\/p>\n

Lives lost<\/h2>\n

1,000<\/p>\n

Housing units damaged<\/h2>\n

134,000<\/p>\n

Source: The Data Center (datacenterresearch.org)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Students still find purpose\u2014and hope\u2014in New Orleans<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":292,"featured_media":9400,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73,77,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inside-out","category-summer-2015","category-on-campus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/292"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9421"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9421\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}