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#15 Grand Isle Revisited
In August of 2005, the lives of the residents of Grand Isle, Louisiana changed forever when Hurricane Katrina landed. In January of 2006, Mission Trip #12 visited Grand Isle and assisted the victims in the rebuilding of their community. This past summer Hurricane Gustav made landfall just 22 miles west of Grand Isle with wind speeds of up to 115 mph. One month later Hurricane Ivan flooded the residents of Grand Isle and the entire southern coastline of Louisiana. Areas that had not yet recovered from the power outages from Gustav were hit once again by Ivan. The community of Grand Isle was devastated.
Recalling the work completed by our group in 2006, we were contacted to see if another group of volunteers could be organized to assist in the clean up of Grand Isle. Dante Dalia organized 21 students, 4 teachers and 3 adults from the community to lend a helping hand. On November 21, the group embarked upon Mission Trip #15. After a Commissioning Service in the Chapel at St. John’s College, hosted by Dina Dalia, the group boarded the bus for the 26 hour trek. That first night, the group set up camp at a fishing lodge where they would remain for the rest of the week.
The group went to New Orleans for mass on Sunday. The day began with the celebration of mass at St. Louis Cathedral (built in 1724 and is the oldest active church in the United States) with the Archbishop of New Orleans, the Most Reverend Alfred Clifton Hughes. Archbishop Hughes publicly recognized the group at mass.
There true extent of the damage was visible upon visiting the Island. Hurricanes Gustav and Ivan had buried portions of the Isle in sand dredged up from the ocean. It was sad to see the work that had been completed by our group only a few years ago, undone and in need of repair. By the end of the week, the students had managed to clean up 4 miles of beach, repair the facilities at the baseball diamond, repair a number of roofs, and revitalize the home of a resident who could not afford the repairs his home desperately needed. On Friday, the group boarded the bus and returned home.
The strong support of our community and their willingness to partner with our schools makes these Mission Trips possible.
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News Highlights
In August of 2005, the lives of the residents of Grand Isle, Louisiana changed forever when Hurricane Katrina landed. In January of 2006, Mission Trip #12 visited Grand Isle and assisted the victims in the rebuilding of their community. This past summer Hurricane Gustav made landfall just 22 miles west of Grand Isle with wind speeds of up to 115 mph. One month later Hurricane Ivan flooded the residents of Grand Isle and the entire southern coastline of Louisiana. Areas that had not yet recovered from the power outages from Gustav were hit once again by Ivan. The community of Grand Isle was devastated.
Recalling the work completed by our group in 2006, we were contacted to see if another group of volunteers could be organized to assist in the clean up of Grand Isle. Dante Dalia organized 21 students, 4 teachers and 3 adults from the community to lend a helping hand. On November 21, the group embarked upon Mission Trip #15. After a Commissioning Service in the Chapel at St. John’s College, hosted by Dina Dalia, the group boarded the bus for the 26 hour trek. That first night, the group set up camp at a fishing lodge where they would remain for the rest of the week.
There true extent of the damage was visible upon visiting the Island. Hurricanes Gustav and Ivan had buried portions of the Isle in sand dredged up from the ocean. It was sad to see the work that had been completed by our group only a few years ago, undone and in need of repair. By the end of the week, the students had managed to clean up 4 miles of beach, repair the facilities at the baseball diamond, repair a number of roofs, and revitalize the home of a resident who could not afford the repairs his home desperately needed. On Friday, the group boarded the bus and returned home.
