NewsUpper SchoolStudent LifeFaculty/StaffAlumniPre-K to 8AdvancementService
Hands-on volunteerism continues in Collins, Miss.
Oct 27, 2005 10:52 AM
By Tannika King - Faculty
This year, 21 Darlington students, four faculty members and six parent volunteers spent fall break hard at work, assisting the residents of Collins, Miss., in recovering from the destruction caused by recent hurricanes in the Gulf Coast region.
Every year, Darlington’s “Y” Cabinet sponsors a campus-wide Thanksgiving drive to support a local agency in need, such as soup kitchens or the William S. Davies homeless shelters. This year, students felt strongly that because hurricane victims needed immediate support, they did not want to wait until Thanksgiving to start on a service project. Thus, the idea was born for a fall break trip.
“The students really wanted to do more than just collect items,” said Jill Pate, “Y” Cabinet adviser and director of personal counseling. “They wanted to work and actually feel like they were giving of their time and energy.”
Several of the students had gone with Doug and Penny Braden on the September trip to Pascagoula, Miss., and they wanted to do more.
“I think part of the reason we are on this Earth is to serve others. Being a teenager that is physically able to get out in the heat and help clean up, it just seemed like the right thing to do,” said senior Emily Hendrickson. “I have learned so much about myself during both of my trips to Mississippi, and I am so thankful that I was able to make an impact on those that needed help, but there is still so much to be done.”
In early September, “Y” Cabinet members challenged the Houses to collect cleaning supplies, toys, linens and other items, and on Oct. 20, the volunteer group departed Darlington in two buses and one van pulling a trailer full of supplies. These goods were delivered to the coast of Mississippi by the state’s Baptist Association.
Through a Baptist Association contact person in Pascagoula, the group was referred to the Covington/Jefferson Davis Baptist Association in Collins, located approximately 100 miles inland and about 30 miles west of Hattiesburg, Miss.
“Although there is still a great deal of need along the coast of Mississippi and Louisiana, there are a lot of small towns inland of the storm that have significant damage due to downed trees,” said Pate. “Many of these communities are just beginning to dig out from under the effects of Hurricane Katrina because the relief effort has had to focus initially on the devastation along the coast.”
Equipped with chainsaws, wheel barrows, rakes and yard clippers, Darlington volunteers spent Friday and Saturday helping four families remove downed trees and debris from their yards.
“One couple had a wife with a terminal illness who was being cared for at home by hospice. They had to live in a camper next to their house for 19 days without any power,” said Pate. “Even though they were back in their home, they had not been able to even begin to remove the downed trees from their property. The students accomplished in six hours what would have likely taken months.”
Another 88-year-old man, who was confined to a wheelchair, was more than appreciative when he saw the huge pile of firewood on his porch after they had extracted and chopped up a giant tree that had fallen next to his house.
“I walked over to him and his wife at one point during the day, and when I got closer I saw a tear dropping down the side of his face,” said Hendrickson. “That feeling that I had, knowing that what we were doing meant so much to this man, was the best experience I had on this trip.”
“He was just a normal little old man, and it made you realize that whoever you are and whatever you have, some tragedy could leave you in the position of really needing help,” added Pam Morgan, major gifts officer. “It makes you appreciate what you have and grateful for when someone helps you.”
Faculty members agreed that the students were amazing. “I never heard anyone ask when we were going to quit or how much more work we had to do,” said Pate. “These students, faculty members and parents could have spent their fall breaks relaxing, but instead, they chose to work hard, sweat and get dirty. I think if you asked any of them, though, they would say they had fun and would do it again in a heartbeat.”
The group returned to Darlington Sunday, Oct. 23, with a different outlook on life. Pate’s son, Ben, said he will never forget the people he met in Mississippi. “We even had one elderly lady tell us that she felt as if God had sent his angels down from Heaven to help her in her time of need,” he recalled. “These are things that you will never forget, no matter how old you get.”
Every year, Darlington’s “Y” Cabinet sponsors a campus-wide Thanksgiving drive to support a local agency in need, such as soup kitchens or the William S. Davies homeless shelters. This year, students felt strongly that because hurricane victims needed immediate support, they did not want to wait until Thanksgiving to start on a service project. Thus, the idea was born for a fall break trip.
“The students really wanted to do more than just collect items,” said Jill Pate, “Y” Cabinet adviser and director of personal counseling. “They wanted to work and actually feel like they were giving of their time and energy.”
Several of the students had gone with Doug and Penny Braden on the September trip to Pascagoula, Miss., and they wanted to do more.
“I think part of the reason we are on this Earth is to serve others. Being a teenager that is physically able to get out in the heat and help clean up, it just seemed like the right thing to do,” said senior Emily Hendrickson. “I have learned so much about myself during both of my trips to Mississippi, and I am so thankful that I was able to make an impact on those that needed help, but there is still so much to be done.”
In early September, “Y” Cabinet members challenged the Houses to collect cleaning supplies, toys, linens and other items, and on Oct. 20, the volunteer group departed Darlington in two buses and one van pulling a trailer full of supplies. These goods were delivered to the coast of Mississippi by the state’s Baptist Association.
Through a Baptist Association contact person in Pascagoula, the group was referred to the Covington/Jefferson Davis Baptist Association in Collins, located approximately 100 miles inland and about 30 miles west of Hattiesburg, Miss.
“Although there is still a great deal of need along the coast of Mississippi and Louisiana, there are a lot of small towns inland of the storm that have significant damage due to downed trees,” said Pate. “Many of these communities are just beginning to dig out from under the effects of Hurricane Katrina because the relief effort has had to focus initially on the devastation along the coast.”
Equipped with chainsaws, wheel barrows, rakes and yard clippers, Darlington volunteers spent Friday and Saturday helping four families remove downed trees and debris from their yards.
“One couple had a wife with a terminal illness who was being cared for at home by hospice. They had to live in a camper next to their house for 19 days without any power,” said Pate. “Even though they were back in their home, they had not been able to even begin to remove the downed trees from their property. The students accomplished in six hours what would have likely taken months.”
Another 88-year-old man, who was confined to a wheelchair, was more than appreciative when he saw the huge pile of firewood on his porch after they had extracted and chopped up a giant tree that had fallen next to his house.
“I walked over to him and his wife at one point during the day, and when I got closer I saw a tear dropping down the side of his face,” said Hendrickson. “That feeling that I had, knowing that what we were doing meant so much to this man, was the best experience I had on this trip.”
“He was just a normal little old man, and it made you realize that whoever you are and whatever you have, some tragedy could leave you in the position of really needing help,” added Pam Morgan, major gifts officer. “It makes you appreciate what you have and grateful for when someone helps you.”
Faculty members agreed that the students were amazing. “I never heard anyone ask when we were going to quit or how much more work we had to do,” said Pate. “These students, faculty members and parents could have spent their fall breaks relaxing, but instead, they chose to work hard, sweat and get dirty. I think if you asked any of them, though, they would say they had fun and would do it again in a heartbeat.”
The group returned to Darlington Sunday, Oct. 23, with a different outlook on life. Pate’s son, Ben, said he will never forget the people he met in Mississippi. “We even had one elderly lady tell us that she felt as if God had sent his angels down from Heaven to help her in her time of need,” he recalled. “These are things that you will never forget, no matter how old you get.”
