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Where the Heart Is


When the Obama administration placed Dickinson on the president’s 2012 Higher-Education Service Honor Roll, it confirmed a long-held conviction: Dickinsonians are committed to helping others. That was clear last year, when students performed countless acts of service through athletics teams and student organizations and logged in 36,820 hours of work through the Office of Religious Life & Community Service. And it’s clear this week, too, as more than 60 students and administrators return to campus from a spring break devoted to providing homes for those in need.

Some volunteers traveled to Henagar, Ala., to repair a home ravaged by a 2011 tornado. Others helped build a house for a disabled resident of Greenwood, S.C. Volunteers also visited New Orleans, La., where they helped fix homes requiring repairs as a result of contractor fraud or funding snafus in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Notably, it was the 10th Gulf-Coast service trip by Dickinson students since the 2006 disaster. [Story continues below.] 


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  • Front row (from left:) Madison Beehler '15, Alex Fernandez '15, Martin Navarrete '13, Maria Orozco '12, Sophie Paxton '12, Heather Livingston '13, Sara Hatch '12, Cassidy Leighton '14, Enzo Malavart, Elizabeth Strode '13 and Gaberella Ramos '15. Back row (from left): Brandon Goldson '15, Kimberly DiStefano '12, Christina Mullen '12, Evan Dubchansky '14, Ethan Rayner '15, Laura Stone '12, Paige Hollenbeck '12, Sabiha Madraswalla '15, Nicole Price '15, Tabea Zimmerman '15, Carrie Vereide '14, Emily Rincavage '14 and Jamie Leidwinger '15. Richard Green '15 is perched on the levee.
    Ninth-Ward Levee
  • Richard Green '15 (left) and Paige Hollenbeck '12 install drywall.
    Richard Green '15
  • Student volunteers meet the owner of the home they worked on, known by the group as "Mr. Larry."
    Connecting
  • Jon Skvarka '07 (far right) speaks with the student volunteers. Skvarka is director of a nonprofit organization, Rebuilding Together in New Orleans. Each year he greets student volunteers, gives a tour of the city's Lower-Ninth Ward and explains the wide-reaching effects of Hurricane Katrina.
    Jon Skvarka '07
  • Pat Mullane (far left), assistant vice president of student development, and teammates Sara Hatch '12 (middle) and Emily Rincavage '13 finish work on a house owned by a hurricane survivor they know as "Miss Susan."
    Emily Rincavage '14
  • Brandon Goldson '15 (left) and Heather Livingston '13 plant flowers the volunteers purchased as a parting gift to the homeowner.
    Heather Livingston '13
  • The Alabama service team worked in an area hard-hit by last year's tornadoes.
    Alabama Volunteers
  • Kelly McIntyre '14 uses a crane to access the roof of a house damaged by the Alabama tornado.
    Kelly McIntyre '14
  • Community volunteers show the students how to remove a damaged roof and install new roofing. Throughout their stay, students worked with six members of the local community.
    Joint Project
  • Students remove the shingles from the damaged roof.
    De-Shingling
  • Volunteers re-install the roof. From left: Saaya Imura 15, Oscar Monge '13, Kelly McIntyre, '14 Jamie Bugel '13 and Juliana Thurston '12.
    Re-installation
  • Taylor Evertsberg '14 (on ladder) and Elise Newhouse '13 place and attach trestles on a house's frame in South Carolina.
    South Carolina
  • Elise Newhouse '13 hammers a new roof onto the frame.
    Elise Newhouse '13
  • Students and local volunteers work together to put plywood on the roof.
    Working Together
  • Team Pennsylvania makes its mark on the new home-to-be.
    Making Their Mark
  • During their brief time in South Carolina, these volunteers roofed the house and started to install the siding. From left: Andrew Dietz ‘15, Elise Newhouse ’13, Norman Nemitz, Yasmine Belaoura ’13, Angel Acosta ’15, Caitlin Simpson ’15, Nicki Redmond (Dickinson staff member) and Mical Tawney ’15.
    Mission Accomplished
  • Front (from left): Elise Newhouse '13, Angel Acosta ’15, Rob Richardson (staff), Mical Tawney ’15, Nicki Redmond (Dickinson staff), Alan Yao ’15, Norman Nemitz (hidden), Josh Handelsman ’12, Sean Galiczynski ’12, Sara Tourteau (Dickinson staff), Taylor Evertsberg ’14, Danny (local volunteer) and Larry (local volunteer). Back (from left): Yasmine Belaoura ’13, Jossie Munoz ’12 and Caitlin Simpson ’15.
    Proud Volunteers
Front row (from left:) Madison Beehler '15, Alex Fernandez '15, Martin Navarrete '13, Maria Orozco '12, Sophie Paxton '12, Heather Livingston '13, Sara Hatch '12, Cassidy Leighton '14, Enzo Malavart, Elizabeth Strode '13 and Gaberella Ramos '15. Back row (from left): Brandon Goldson '15, Kimberly DiStefano '12, Christina Mullen '12, Evan Dubchansky '14, Ethan Rayner '15, Laura Stone '12, Paige Hollenbeck '12, Sabiha Madraswalla '15, Nicole Price '15, Tabea Zimmerman '15, Carrie Vereide '14, Emily Rincavage '14 and Jamie Leidwinger '15. Richard Green '15 is perched on the levee.Prev ImageNext Image

 

Three-time service-trip veteran Christina Mullen’12 served as student leader during this spring's excursion to New Orleans. She notes that nontraditional spring breaks such as these are transformative not only for the homeowners they benefit, but for the volunteers, as well.

“It was so exciting to see so many participants [learn] the value of—and develop a passion for—service,” Mullen said, adding that she enjoyed leading evening discussions throughout the week so all volunteers could reflect on what they'd experienced.

Asked to sum up the trip, a fellow student agreed, writing: “I have to admit that I was ignorant about poverty, and too [enmeshed] in my own life. That has changed.”

By MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson
Photos courtesy of student volunteers

Read about another alternative spring break, this one melding Judaism and sustainability.