December 2011 Updates

On December 21, 2011

We were at the Boys & Girls Club of the Gulf Coast Forest Heights unit working with children of all ages on origami for the holidays.  The volunteer group is from Florida Community College in Ft. Myers.

Email from a former volunteer:

To All!

New friends made through the awesome task of rebuilding Biloxi's destroyed homes brought out the best in human compassion. I, too, lost everything that I had in Mississippi when Katrina blew and washed away The St. Charles Condos on Beach Blvd. So, my volunteer time became personal, and my heart filled with joy when I experienced the appreciation of peoples whose homes I helped to rebuild. I will not forget it... Thanks for the opportunity.

Suzanne Burke

Garden Project

In October 2011, we worked with the gifted class at Woolmarket Elementary in Biloxi, MS to rebuild their community garden.

Along with three Master Gardeners from across the county, we rebuilt the raised gardens and a wonderful fish pond.

(for more info click on "stories" and "photos")

Stories from Smithville

Written By Marie Ostrander-

For this tornado response trip we lead the Youth Group from Coalville United Methodist Church (CUMC) and their chaperones as they brought their Vacation Bible School (VBS) program to the kids of Smithville and the surrounding areas.

The CUMC Youth Group usually runs their VBS program from their church every summer and know how much it means to the kids who participate and their parents. They also know what its like to have your life and community turned upside down by a natural disaster as all of them experienced Hurricane Katrina here on the Coast. They also remember the outpouring of help and caring that poured in form across the country following Katrina, and how much it meant to know that perfect strangers were thinking of them. So the Church, the Youth, and the Parishioners decided that the greatest thing they could do for the families of Smithville was to bring their VBS program to them. Only one church in Smithville was left standing, leaving the families who had long made the church the center of their lives without a place to call their own.

So, packing up all their props and supplies and enough food to feed a small army, the Coalville group brought their Shake it Up VBS program to St. Andrews Methodist Church in Amory, MS. We really had no idea what to expect; this was the group’s first mission trip into a disaster zone, the first time running their VBS program anywhere else but at CUMC, we had no idea how many kids would be there, no idea what ages or how they would react to being surrounded by total strangers. We also had no idea how the Youth would react so far out of their element, how they would be in the Mississippi State dorms, or what feelings might come up once they actually saw all of the devastation in Smithville, having gone thru their own catastrophe just a few years ago. There were a lot of unknowns, a lot of things we couldn’t even begin to plan for, and, as support staff only, a lot of places the AmeriCorps members from Hands On Mississippi couldn’t even begin to go or things we couldn’t tae control of. This was a learning experience for us all.

The first day of VBS went as well as it could have. We had 13 kids show up, which was perfect because I don’t know what we would have done if 73 had shown up. Hands On took the kids for an hour of rec time after lunch to give the Coalville Youth and their leaders a break. Our goal was to wear them down so that they might be a little less active as the day's program was winding down. So we played Steal the Bacon, and tag, blew bubbles with a couple of the little girls who were less interested in running around. The cutest part was the group of girls who decided to spend their time outside building a home for a raccoon, presumably the VBS's plush spokesman Scraps the Raccoon, out of sticks and Magnolia leaves, and a huge piece of fungus they found on a tree stump. They even left an apple for the inhabitant to eat.

Once we had finished up for the day I led the group to Smithville so they could see just how bad it had been hit. We drove passed the Piggly Wiggly and flattened neighborhoods, thru whats left of downtown Smithville and turned around near the battered school campus. Its hard to say what the youth were thinking as they drove through a community who's damage so strongly resembles that which their own community faced following Katrina. But it seems impossible that it didn’t bring up their own memories. I know that each time I have driven through Smithville I am reminded of the things I saw here on the Coast when I made my own relief trips after the storm.

The next day we had 27 kids show up, a welcomed sight for everyone who had put so much into this trip. The kids were all so enthusiastic and excited to be there. And the Youth were just as thrilled. They were so good with the kids and it was a great experience for all involved. The culmination of everything came that evening when we invited all of the kids' parents in to watch their children put on a play about everything they had learned that week, and we followed it up by serving them dinner.

All in all the whole experience was a good one and one that we could all certainly learn from. I think it was a new one for all of us, we were all doing things and going places we had never been before, taking on roles and responsibilities that we'd never before been faced with. And I think that by putting ourselves out there we are now better prepared for anything that might come our way.



AmeriCorps Member First Hands Report of Smithville Recovery Efforts.

Smithville, Mississippi is a small town in North Mississippi that was ravaged by a tornado on April 28^th, 2011. Seeing the aftermath of something like that is something you can never be truly prepared for. As we rounded the corner of Highway 25 into Smithville, everything around us changed. Where before there were small businesses, homes, and trees, now were piles of rubble, and even worse, empty slabs. As we drove through town we saw the remnants of the post office (just a few P.O. Boxes left standing on the foundation), and the Piggly Wiggly (the bathrooms still intact, but the cinderblock walls blown away). In contrast to the physical destruction though, we found that the people we spoke and interacted with had an incredible strength. From the director of the United Way who herself lost her home, but spent her days making sure that others were recovering, to the woman who found her crate of baby pictures in the rubble 3 days later, everyone was grateful for what they still HAD, not regretful for the things they had lost. It was inspiring to see such humility and faith in a community so troubled. I will never forget it.

M.Carty AmeriCorps Member



Disaster Responce in Cumberland, Mississippi.

The following account was written by Tiffany Howell, AmeriCoprs Member sited with Women in Construction.

Women in Construction left on Friday, May 13, 2011.  Our group of five women went to Cumberland, MS. to help with the tornado disaster response.  Abigail Hubbard was the contact at the Cumberland Volunteer Fire Department staging area.  We worked at two different sites.  The first home we worked at was Mrs. Galden's.  We arrived at 8:00 am to begin debris clean up.  We spent all day removing fallen trees some of which fell on her roof and shed.  At lunch time we were offered home made soup.  We spent the rest of the afternoon clearing her property. 

On Saturday the 14th we reported to Mr. Blalck's farm. We worked all day clearing the fields for his sheep, mules, and horses.  He was so happy to have us that he purchased plate lunches for us from the local store. 

Everyone we met while in Cumberland were so friendly and helpful.  It is a great experience to be able to help your fellow community members.