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Volunteers
to assist firefighters
impacted by Katrina
A team of volunteers from NC State is embarking on a trip to the Gulf Coast to provide assistance to those who have been assisting others in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
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Contributed photo |
| University volunteers will spend four days helping repair this home and two others in Ocean Springs, Miss., belonging to firefighters affected by Hurricane Katrina. |
Approximately 15 university employees and students are traveling to Ocean Springs, Miss., to help firefighters from the area begin rebuilding their homes from the damage caused by the storm, which slammed Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi in late August.
Volunteers will depart from campus following work on Tuesday, Nov. 29 and spend four full days helping rebuild the homes of three firefighters and their families before returning on Sunday, Dec. 4. The trip is being organized by the NC State Staff Senate’s resources and environment committee, which is chaired by Sandee Zechman, a telecommunications officer in the transportation department.
“We wanted the university community to be involved in a relief effort that involved more than contributing money,” Zechman said. “The firefighters in Ocean Springs are prime candidates for help. Their houses are the last ones to be worked on because they’ve been out helping everybody else.”
Zechman put the wheels in motion to organize the trip after some of her friends who are firefighters with the Fairview Fire Department in Apex assisted firefighters in Ocean Springs in the recovery efforts in the weeks immediately following Katrina. Zechman’s firefighter friends, Donald and Chris Pierce, briefed the Staff Senate at its November meeting about their experiences in Ocean Springs, which is located near Biloxi.
“They suffered significant devastation,” Donald Pierce said. “The main thing they need is support – financial and manual labor. Without outside assistance, they will not be able to rebuild their homes.”
Zechman says volunteers from the university will primarily work on reconstructing the interiors of the firefighters’ homes by installing insulation, hanging sheetrock and painting walls. The team plans to take as many supplies with them as possible when they depart on Nov. 29. Anyone interested in donating building supplies, school supplies for children, money or any other items should contact Zechman at 513-7661. Contributions may be made through Friday, Nov. 25.
“The response has been tremendous,” Zechman says. “The firefighters we will be working with down there are overwhelmed and humbled that a group from the university is coming down to assist them. They are more concerned about helping others, so bringing a group like this to help them is very encouraging, and lets them know that we can do our part.”
Posted Nov. 18, 2005
All Rights Reserved
