Baylor College of Dentistry,
Texas A&M University System Health Science Center

Dallas, TX
1,169 Students

Some 300 Baylor students, faculty and staff provided dental treatment to hurricane evacuees.  Care was given first to those in pain and extreme need of medical assistance. Additional treatment was provided periodically throughout the year.  Toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste were acquired and donated to 21,000 evacuees. Grants were applied for and received totaling over $84,000-- allowing for prolonged dental treatment to about 500 hurricane-affected individuals. 

About 150 students assisted the Red Cross in making the hurricane evacuees comfortable by setting up cots and distributing donated food and hygiene items.  After returning to school, the impact of their personal service experience drove these Baylor students to gather donations totaling over $1,800 and leading a school-wide blood drive gathering 36 units of blood. 

Central Michigan University

Mount Pleasant, MI
27,221 Students

In September, 2005, just two weeks after Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, eight members of Central Michigan University (CMU)’s Physician Assistant program traveled to hard-hit Gulf regions, setting up medical tents and trailers on city streets before water and electricity were restored, along with a complete pharmacy and medical supply station using donated supplies from Michigan. These CMU volunteers spent over 2,550 hours providing emergency services to populations who had not yet been helped—such as the elderly and inmates in the local county jail, and delivering thousands of dollars worth of drugs, clothing and food to displaced residents. One 96 year-old storm survivor was brought back to Michigan to live with the family of a CMU team member while waiting for a FEMA trailer to become available.        

CMU’s Alternative Breaks program reacted to the devastation of Katrina by sending two student groups, totaling 20 students, to New Orleans in December, 2005, and another trip during spring break 2006. These groups helped remove waste and debris, rebuilt homes and offices, and replanted a community garden. Another group of 12 students went to Florida to help restore an animal refuge that was devastated by hurricane Wilma. Further student work trips to the Gulf are planned for the coming academic year.  In March, CMU’s Recreation, Parks and Leisure Department coordinated a 40-student trip to D’lberville, Mississippi that helped rebuild and clean up nine tourist destinations along the Gulf coast.  Meanwhile, faculty of several other academic departments held well-attended discussion sessions about the social and other causes and consequences of the Katrina disaster.

The CMU administration contributed significantly to the hurricane relief effort, for example, by offering a week of paid leave to employees who spent time volunteering in the disaster area, and creation of a “vacation bank” by which faculty and staff unable to leave the University were able to donate their vacation hours to those able to travel to the disaster area.

Georgetown University

Washington, DC
13,652 Students

Georgetown University Hurricane Emergency Relief Effort (GU HERE) was created to maximize relief services and coordinate fund-raising and awareness events.  Over 20 student groups organized events including fundraisers, clothing drives, candlelight vigils and lectures relating to hurricane relief.  More than $15,000 was raised during these efforts.  A Karaoke for Katrina event was organized by the Law School raising $5,000 that was donated to provide legal aid and to address other disaster relief needs.  “Blanket New Orleans,” an innovative program organized by students, local churches, businesses and college sponsors, raised $7,500 for hurricane relief and obtained donations of fleece blankets and care packages of hygiene products that were distributed to families in need.

The Georgetown University Hospital’s KIDS Mobile Medical Clinic was dispatched to the DC Armory were more than 400 evacuees were being temporarily housed.  The unit provided medical treatment, physical support and vaccine and immunization information so that displaced children could enter the D.C. public schools as quickly as possible.  In addition, some 30 students and 12 staff participated in a Spring Break 2006 trip to an Alabama town that was devastated by Katrina.  Overall, some 4,000 service hours were donated, and hundreds of hurricane victims benefited from the service efforts of the Georgetown students, staff and faculty.

Louisiana Tech University

Ruston, LA
11,593 Students

Louisiana Tech began assisting Hurricane evacuees just two days after the storm hit, providing housing for over 300 people.  Over 100 faculty and staff and over 544 students helped renovate the residence halls to house displaced individuals and families.  University dining services provided more than 30,000 hot meals to the hurricane victims. Meanwhile, counselors, nurses and graduate student interns provided counseling and health care services totaling over 115 hours. The entire Tulane football team and its women’s track team and staff were housed and provided with workspace and workout facilities throughout the football season.   In addition to assisting evacuees with immediate food, housing and health care needs, University students and faculty provided daily tutoring sessions and other activities for the evacuated children, putting in some 2,500 hours of service.  Louisiana Tech admitted 289 displaced college students from Gulf Coast colleges, provided counseling and distributed a total of $310,796 in financial aid to displaced college students.  During spring break, 23 students committed three days to Habitat for Humanity programs in southern Louisiana.

When Hurricane Rita made a direct hit on McNeese State University, a neighboring college in Lake Charles, Louisiana Tech again went “above and beyond” to help those in need.  For two weeks Louisiana Tech provided space for McNeese State to operate critical administrative functions. Some McNeese State staffers were housed in the homes of LA Tech staff.  McNeese State staff were supported with Internet and administrative facilities so that McNeese could continue to operate during that very difficult two week period.

State University of New York at Geneseo

Geneseo, NY
5,484 Students

In response to the devastating hurricanes of 2005, SUNY at Geneseo and Livingston County, New York created “Livingston CARES,” a unique partnership between Livingston County, New York and Harrison County, Mississippi.  CARES spearheaded three work trips to Harrison County and has plans for additional work trips in the coming year.  Over 75 students, faculty and community members participated in these trips to provide hands-on help and reconstruction of 15 homes.

In addition, this innovative project raised over $65,000 for the relief of hurricane victims. In the coming years CARES will continue to utilize Geneseo students in addressing both longer-term effects of the storm. This unique and effective partnership of public schools, the local government, faith-based and other community groups can be a model for collaborations by other colleges and communities.

Southern University and A&M College

Baton Rouge, LA
10,364 Students

Southern University A&M opened one of the largest hurricane relief shelters in Baton Rouge on August 31, and kept it open through October 21, 2005.  A total of about 1,500 University students participated in service activities addressing the immediate and long-term needs of hurricane victims.  School of Nursing (SON) students and staff volunteered hundreds of hours, providing over 1,000 people with primary medical services.  SON also created and manned a primary health care service clinic at a FEMA trailer site that was home to some 1,500 evacuees. The University Student Health Center gave free treatment, medication and immunizations to 151 displaced students, 133 displaced faculty and 25 displaced staff members.  Students in service-learning classes obtained and distributed personal care items, toys, school supplies, and eye glasses.

The University enrolled about 1,200 displaced students during the fall 2005 semester.  Along with equipment and office space, classrooms and labs were shared with about 150 administrators, faculty and staff from the Southern University of New Orleans campus.  Campus housing was provided for 287 students and more than 500 hours of mental health services was provided through the University Counseling Center. 

University of Connecticut – Storrs

Storrs, CT
23,185 Students

Students who returned from a University-sponsored service trip to Mississippi in January 2006 created UConn Relief Corps (URC) to support continued Gulf Coast direct relief work.  URC organized and led two subsequent trips to New Orleans during spring break and during the summer.  In this effort 93 students cleaned, painted, or gutted 19 homes, contributing a total of 3,700 service hours, and saving residents an estimated $132,000. Using a service-learning approach, the University’s Community Outreach (CO) office separately organized four trips to New Orleans during 2005-06, in which 3,800 hours of relief service were committed by 100 students and staff.  Additional trips are being planned for the coming year by both CO and URC to continue rebuilding communities devastated by Katrina.

UConn students from 20 community service, social, and academic organizations established the Hurricane Katrina Relief Student Organization to fundraise for Katrina relief. An estimated 1,000 students participated in projects to raise funds for hurricane relief, contributing an estimated 11,000 hours of service. Using a variety of novel fund raising techniques, including the donation of student dinning hall meals, this collaborative group raised $75,000 in the fall 2005 semester alone, and filled two buses with donated relief goods that were delivered to hurricane victims. 

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN
11,417 Students

Hurricane Response Day on September 9, 2005 involved academic discussions on poverty, racism, disaster relief, and other pertinent issues. Donations were collected and over 250 students, staff and faculty participated in the event.  One spring break service-learning course entitled Environmental Justice and Human Rights in the Aftermath of Katrina class went to New Orleans as it studied domestic environmental issues from a minority perspective.  A summer service-learning program was also created to help in the recovery effort.  Two service trips to Mississippi involved 71 students who have now created and are leading a Gulf Coast Task Force to continue relief efforts and trips to the disaster area.  Notre Dame Alumni donated $19,000 in supplies to storm hit Mississippi. In addition, students and alumni joined efforts organized by Habitat for Humanity and Operation Helping Hands in several Gulf communities.

Xavier University of Louisiana

New Orleans, LA
3,091 Students

Despite significant hurricane damage, Xavier University was able to mount several remarkable hurricane relief efforts.  When, due to decreased enrollment caused by Katrina, a residence hall was not needed by Xavier students, it was made available to house 500 volunteers from outside groups assisting in the rebuilding of New Orleans. Public Relations students led a successful campaign to recruit students from minority- serving colleges to come to New Orleans to assist in the rebuilding effort. This campaign resulted in over 1,500 students of color participating in alternative break programs which gutted houses, re-posted street signs, and removed debris in hard-hit neighborhoods.

Overall, an estimated 65 percent of Xavier’s students took part in hurricane relief and recovery efforts.  Some 800 Xavier students participated in monthly community clean-ups, which gutted 11 houses, painted a school, cleaned up three neighborhoods,  planted many trees, and delivered hundreds of food boxes to needy families. Pre-medicine students assisted the New Orleans Health Department in documenting residents’ medical histories on CDs, which facilitated evacuation and treatment of many residents.  Pharmacy and pre-medical students conducted blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose screenings.  Communications School students recorded oral histories of New Orleans residents in order to preserve their experiences during and after Katrina as well as to preserve neighborhood histories.