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Alternative Spring Break—Katrina Clean Up, Biloxi, Mississippi

While many students were enjoying the beaches or trips to Six Flags during Spring Break, six Eastfield students and two staff members made the long drive to Biloxi, Mississippi and worked with other college students from around the country to aid local agencies in cleaning and rebuilding the Gulf Coast.  Kim Ansley, Chris Ross, Mario Orozco, Lydia Thomas, Rachel Naaman, and Joe Drake cleaned up city streets in Moss Point, Mississippi, and planted trees and shrubs and helped build a children’s playground in Long Beach, Mississippi.  During the visit, students were able to view first hand the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, and they met with local residents and city officials to discuss the ongoing rebuilding efforts.  The DCCCD should be very proud of the hard work these students performed.  They were excellent ambassadors for the district in letting the Gulf Coast community know that they have not been forgotten, and hopefully, future trips of this nature can become an ongoing DCCCD effort.  SPAR staff member Judy Schwartz and biology instructor Jeff Hughes accompanied the students. 

Rachel, Lydia, Kim and Mario working on the street in Moss Point, Mississippi			Joe Drake working in Moss Point
Professor Jeff Hughes working on clearing the driveway of a home damaged by Katrina.  The homeowners live in the temporary housing.	Planting the trees and shrubs at the Long Beach park		Chris Ross planting shrubs at Long Beach park
Lydia, Kim and Mario planting shrubs at Long Beach park	Group assisting with the gazebo at Long Beach park		Kim, Lydia, Mario, Chris, Joe and Jeff taking a break at Long Beach
How many students does it take to move a table?	We were part of “Keep America Beautiful” Long Beach		The group took a break from the work and experienced Mississippi swamp lands in a real airboat.
Students in front of the Biloxi lighthouse, which became a symbol of hope to the community after the storm.  It was damaged, but withstood the wind and water.  It has since been repaired		Group photo in front of the Biloxi lighthouse left to right:  Chris Ross, Lydia Thomas, Mario Orozco, Judy Schwartz (SPAR staff), Jeff Hughes (Biology professor), Kim Ansley, Rachel Naaman, and Joe Drake.