From NE to NO – Northeastern Dutchess Students
Traveling to New Orleans to Help Rebuild

"Youth asset opportunities build healthy, caring, responsible young adults"

Five high school students, some from Webutuck High School and some home-schooled, will travel to New Orleans over spring break to help in the rebuilding effort in Broadmoor, one of the hardest-hit areas of the city during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In this low-lying area, flood levels rose to nearly 30 feet, ruining virtually every house in the culturally diverse and vibrant neighborhood. Students from Millerton and Amenia will team up with a team from Bard College, where students have been working with a local organization in Broadmoor for over a year on rebuilding and community organizing.

 The students will work on a variety of direct service projects including:

• Going door to door, surveying residents about their needs and whether they’ve gotten the assistance they’ve requested. The information the students gather will be entered into a database and prioritized so that volunteer groups and others offering assistance can target their efforts to where they are most needed.

• Assisting in the renovation of a new community center that will be cultural resource for the neighborhood. Founded by a long-time resident of Broadmoor, the Marcus J. Garvey Community Center will contain a library, programs and activities for all ages.

The students will work side-by-side with college students from Bard, who will mentor and guide them. This partnership will open a window onto college life and experience, helping students become better prepared and motivated to chart their own path to college. They will also have the opportunity to work with and learn from the members of the Broadmoor Improvement Association, a diverse group of citizens that has come together to revitalize the neighborhood, encourage residents to return and rebuild, and ensure that all in the neighborhood receive the services and funding they are entitled to. 

While in New Orleans, the students will be housed at the Church of the Annunciation, and will have opportunities to tour the city and surrounding areas. Visits have been planned to sites such as a glassblowing shop, as several of the students are learning glassblowing in Millerton as part of their work assignments through NECC.

 The students will benefit in a myriad of ways. They will travel to a new environment, where the culture is different from what they know. They will gain hands-on experience helping others, and will come face to face, and speak in depth, with people of greatly varying backgrounds. Through study, direct service and reflection, this project has the potential to transform how they see themselves and their role in the community and the world.

 A $1,000 grant from the Youth Asset Team of the Children's Services Councilof Dutchess County will cover a portion of the plane fare to New Orleans (room and board will be covered by the sponsors.) The students are seeking to raise an additional $1,000 - $1,500 towards the total cost of travel and incidentals for five students and two adult leaders. To make a donation or for more information, contact NECC at (518)789-4259

NE to NO - Background

The students going on the trip are all participants in NECC’s Partnership with Schools and Business (CPSB), in which students get on-the-job training at a variety of community businesses and organizations. They work at no cost to the employer -- students are paid minimum wage through grants and other donations, which enables small business owners to take a risk on an inexperienced student. In return they offer the students meaningful work, real training, and mentorship. The relationships that form between employer and student are often transformative for both. Training and ongoing support for both parties is provided by NECC’s staff, who provide guidance in creating job descriptions and work plans, teaches students the basics of the “soft skills” of work – communication, responsibility, showing up on time, dressing appropriately, conflict resolution. The staff is always available for problem-solving when issues arise.

Alternative Spring Break: The New Orleans project is the first of what will become a tradition of Alternative Spring Breaks for students involved in the CPSB.  The Alternative Spring Break (ASB) Program has been called "the week that lasts a lifetime". It exposes students to complex social and cultural issues through direct service, experiential learning, group discussion, and individual reflection. The vision is to transform students into advocates of social change on issues affecting our communities.

  The three main components of an ASP are:

• Preparation – learning about the issues and needs in the community, planning activities, exploring motivation and desire, planning logistics. In this case, preparation will include several visits to the Bard campus to meet with the college students planning the trip, as well as viewing Spike Lee’s film, “When the Levees Broke” to learn more about the city, and the cultural and political forces affecting its residents, before and after the hurricanes.

• The trip itself, focusing on direct service and learning as well as cultural exploration.

• Reflection – during and after the trip, to integrate the experiences, draw conclusions, apply lessons learned to present experiences and future plans.

One organization, Break Away, that provides support to groups planning Alternative Spring Breaks, describes its purpose this way: “An alternative break program places teams of students in communities to engage in service and experiential learning. Students perform short-term projects for community agencies and learn about issues such as illiteracy, poverty, racism, hunger, homelessness and the environment. The objectives of an alternative break program are to give students opportunities to learn about the problems faced by members of communities with whom they otherwise may have had little or no direct contact. Being completely immersed into diverse environments enables participants to experience, discuss, and understand social issues in a significant way. The intensity of the experience increases the likelihood that participants will transfer the lessons learned on-site back to their own communities even after the alternative break ends. Alternative breaks can be a springboard into lifelong active citizenship...where the community becomes a priority in an individual's life decisions.”

 

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