Community Service- An issue of reciprocity...

Dartmouth, Massachusetts has for the second year in a row lost override voting. We are in the lower bracket per-pupil expenditure rate in our state. Art programs are being cut. Fees have been instituted to participate in activities and sports. Currently, the school community feels it is in a state of under-appreciation. Starting the 2007/8 school year under this umbrella of dark clouds was nothing shy of depressing, but situations are relative. For example, in comparison to students in other districts, counties and states we, in comparison are in a far more "comfortable" position. This was made evident when viewing the Spike Lee documentary, When the Levees Broke; A Requiem in Four Acts during the MCLA Leadership Academy in the summer of 2007. What struck me most was not just their need for help, but how little we were reminded of their need in the media. It seemed to me that helping New Orleans to rebuild was necessary, not only for the people of NOLA, but also for the volunteer students of Dartmouth High.
I started the planning of a "voluntourism" trip to New Orleans in the summer of 2007. The plan involved taking a group of 42 students and 8 adult chaperones to help rebuild (via Habitat for Humanity) parts of New Orleans in greatest need. I could never have guessed the experience I was nurturing for both students and adults... We built floor systems, installed siding, trim, painted, primed and caulked. We also worked with the Animal Rescue of New Orleans (ARNO), helping out with daily tasks usually done by local volunteers- cleaning, bathing the animals, feeding both the on-site animals as well as filling the "feeding stations" for homeless animals. Every night, during dinner, I heard stories of joy, sadness, exhaustion and sheer exhilaration.
These 50 people gave up their April vacation week to hop on a bus for 24 hours (in each direction) to help others. They completely forgot that they were the school that didn't get the big override. They became life-long community service members. As I said above, sometimes our judgment of the situation we find ourselves in can be inverted when it is put into perspective. These volunteers will never forget the friends they made in New Orleans, or the way they view community on a larger global scale.
Here are some helpful links to start the journey to help our friends in New Orleans:
http://www.rockfound.org/about_us/news/2007/0125levees.shtml
www.habitat-nola.org