 |
|
 |
Working Hard in the Big Easy
March 24, 2006Comments (0) | Add | E-mail this to a friendHouses resting on cars. Boats sitting in trees. A newly finished home.
These are the images that 300 students will take with them following a week of relief work in New Orleans and surrounding areas. And they will also take with them the satisfaction of knowing that they improved the lives of New Orleanians still reeling from the devastation of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
"The physical gift you gave us was uplifting, but the value of seeing all of you giving up your time and energy to help people you don't even know and may never meet brought a renewed hope for the future," one local resident wrote to Hillel.
Ten groups of Hillel students traveled to the New Orleans area during spring break to work with a variety of local relief organizations, such as Common Ground and Habitat for Humanity. The young people gutted houses, rebuilt homes and distributed food to the homeless.
Many of the groups incorporated interfaith dialogue into their programs. Hillel at Cal State Northridge will celebrate Passover in New Orleans during a relief trip that includes members of 10 Jewish and Christian organizations on campus. Students from Hillel and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) at the University of Southern California traveled to Baton Rouge together to build homes and to discuss their identity.
"Not only did this program help us learn about African Americans, it helped us learn about the nature of our own Jewish identity," explained Rabbi Jonathan Klein.
The Hillel groups working in New Orleans and surrounding areas are: University of Pennsylvania; University of Southern California; University of Maryland, College Park; Toronto, Kingston and Montreal Hillels; University of Pittsburgh; Hillels in New York (Columbia, Barnard, Westchester, NYU); Cal State Northridge; Orange County; and Michigan State.
|
 |
|
 |