Sleeping bag?
Check.
Flashlight?
Check.
Heavy duty work gloves and protective goggles?
Check and check.
Spring break, here we come. No beach towels or swimming trunks allowed.
I’m packing a duffel bag, getting ready to tag along with a group of nearly 30 Penn State Behrend students who’ll spend the next week in Gulfport, Miss., rebuilding homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
We’ll be camping out at the Orange Grove Presbyterian Church, in northwest Gulfport. The church has turned over its buildings to the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the emergency response arm of the Presbyterian Church and the host organization for the trip.
Full disclosure: I don’t know the difference between spackle and a spatula, so I’m going to focus on stories instead of siding.
Over the next week, I’ll be reporting from construction sites as students work to repair homes – and lives. I’ll talk to families, both here in Erie and in Gulfport, who have benefited from the generosity of volunteers since Katrina crashed ashore two and a half years ago. And I’ll see, firsthand, how a tenacious, vibrant city is finding its feet once again.
What better way to spend spring break?
Follow along!
-- Erica Erwin