Come Join Us in May!

The January 2010 trip to Biloxi, MS went great! Check out pictures from our journey here!

On February 14, 2010 we have our 17th group going to give back to the residents of Harrison County.

Our 5th Alternative Spring Break trip is all full for March, but we still have spots open for our May trip! Download our application on our website or stop by College Union 353 to pick one up.

The May trip leaves Sunday, May 16 and returns Saturday, May 22.

The deadline for May is approaching fast! Get your paperwork and payment in by March 12, 2010 to reserve a seat.

Feel free to contact me if you have any additional questions by e-mail (rogersk@geneseo.edu), by phone (585-245-5139), or stop by my office located in the MacVittie College Union in room 353.

Hope to see you soon!

We Made It!

Yesterday, we embarked on our 16th trip to Mississippi. Myself, Geneseo students, Geneseo community members, and even a student from the University of Delaware took various flights - making it out despite the looming blizzard in New York - to New Orleans, LA. There, we packed into four vans and traveled a little under two hours to Ocean Springs, MS (with a much anticipated stop at Sonic along the way).

Camp Victor, located in Ocean Springs, MS, has met my expectations and then some. We have bunk style dormitories - with brand new, comfortable mattresses. It is quieter than I expected, especially since there are so many groups said to be here (though the noise level doesn't indicate this.)

Today was our first work day. My group consists of myself - AmeriCorps VISTA at SUNY Geneseo - two community members, and four students. After a short orientation at Hope Community Development Agency (they connect us to work sites) we headed off. First we went to a "warehouse," which was previously a cat food factory, to pick up tools. When we arrived at our site, Seth (from Hope CDA) informed us that the house we would be working on was one of the first to be rebuilt after the storm, but the foundation was not put down properly and needed to be redone. We were to pull up the floor in a small bedroom - this is what Seth thought we would have time for - by the end of the day we were able to pull up that floor, the living room floor, and the kitchen floor.

At lunch we met with homeowners of homes Livingston CARES has worked on in the past. It was a really good opportunity to hear stories straight from those that we helped. Gladys (one of the homeowners) told me her story - how she stayed in the storm because she had "stayed through all the others," her life living on her couch for three months before she finally got a FEMA trailer, and how she really learned how blessed she now is - because of how she had to live after the storm.

Become a Fan!

Livingston CARES is on Facebook! Check out our fan page http://bit.ly/CARESonFB and become a fan today!

Sign Up Today!

Looking for an amazing experience this spring break? How about an experience that will be fun, with your friends, warm (what's spring break without a little sun?), and one that will give back to a community in need?

Hurricane Katrina wrecked havoc four years ago this month - and much work continues to remain - YOU CAN HELP! Livingston CARES is a non-profit organization that takes work trips to Mississippi to help out with Katrina relief. We help rebuild homes and do repair work on local community projects - such as greenhouses, schools, and community centers.

2010 Trip Dates are...

Sunday, January 3 to Saturday, January 9
Sunday February, 14 to Saturday, February 20
March ‘10 Alternative Spring Break: Saturday, March 13 to Saturday, March 20
Sunday, May 16 to Saturday, May 22

For more information about Livingston CARES, check out our website http://livingstoncares.geneseo.edu/.

Want to know more?

ATTEND AN INTEREST MEETING

Tuesday September 29th at 7 p.m. - Union 322

Spots fill up fast!

Want to get a head start on your paperwork now?

Visit http://livingstoncares.geneseo.edu/Registration.html to print out forms!

Feel free to contact me if you have any additional questions by e-mail (rogersk@geneseo.edu), by phone (585-245-5139), or stop by my office located in the MacVittie College Union in room 353. You can also contact Marissa Evarts at mae6@geneseo.edu.

See you there!

Thanks from Camp Victor !

Again, another great week of service here at Camp Victor and a real blessing to have been able to host your team. I had a blast with your volunteers last week. I was able to work on site with them and also go to a bonfire on Thursday night with them as well. The kids from SUNY Geneseo brought enough energy and enthusiasm for the whole camp. It made the week really enjoyable and I want to say thank you, thank you, thank you.

I know they worked very hard on site and I heard many of the construction supervisors saying that they wish your teams where back down here this week because they miss the energy and hard work attitude. It's really nice when two organizations can work together to meet the needs of volunteers in different ways. I'm glad we've been able to house your teams and EBCC has done a great job at providing good work projects. A success all around. (Even more successful when you guys bring awesome volunteers!)

Please pass along my thanks to everyone from last week's team so I have a chance to tell them how great they were and how much we miss them! If any of them are interested in keeping in touch with the camp I can add them to the email newsletter list. Keep spreading the word
and blessings again for supporting our mission and helping the Gulf Coast continue to rebuild.

Thursday- Day 4

We've been enjoying some wonderful weather here in Biloxi. It's been about 75 degrees and sunny.

Here's what our groups have accomplished today:

Lea and Lwam: Demolition continues. We arrived to the site to find that a city dump truck was emptying our full dumpster. With this, we were able to continue working. They hope to have the whole house demolished by Friday.

Mark, Alyssa: Sheetrocking, drywall, and carpenty.

Steven, Jarrod and Kaelyn: Second coat of paint was applied. Finished some touch-ups on the walls. Dusted and varnished plywood boards for the ceiling. These teams were also fortunate to have pizza given to them by their homeowner who spent lunch with us. She shared her story of her experience during the storm-- she spent 8 hours in her attic with water constantly rising. She was able to save nothing from her house and lives in a Mima trailer behind her house.

The big highlight of today was seeing a house dedication. It was one of the houses that Livingston CARES worked on in January. The family was there and thanked all the volunteers for their support of Biloxi's rebuilding. They provided food and let us walk through their BEAUTIFUL home. For those of you in January, I will definitely send pictures! It was really important for us to see that our work DOES matter and that we are able to impact the lives of others.

We also went to a bonfire on the Gulf of Mexico beach. We'll miss this when we're back in New York!

Wednesday!

We're finally getting into the swing of things. Our day at Camp Victor starts at 6AM with waking up and breakfast at 650. We make our lunch each day before we leave for the work sites at 7:40. Camp Victor has been extremely busy this week. It's filled to capacity at 200, with an additional 100 volunteers using their facilities to shower and eat each day. It's good to see so many people dedicated to serving Southern Mississippi!

Here's what our groups have been up to:

Kaelyn, Steven, and Jarrod: finished priming and texturizing the house. We did our first coat of paint on the house

Mark and Alyssa's team: Installed drywall, and did some carpentry

Lea and Lwam's team: More demolition. Their work was temporarily put on hold due to a full dumpster (with no funds to remove the debris)

Wednesday night we went out to the Shed (a Livingston CARES tradition!) They specialize in BBQ and it's a great place to hang out.

We're halfway there!