by Lindsey Pitts
lpitts@butler.edu
BUTLER STUDENT VOLUNTEERS FOR KATRINA VICTIMS
INDIANAPOLIS (Nov. 17, 2008)—Some college students use Fall Break to relax, but Butler University senior John McCullough wanted to do something more worthwhile on his vacation. McCullough organized a service trip for the Sigma Chi fraternity to aid the New Orleans recovery effort from Hurricane Katrina.
Geography is no boundary for McCullough, a Seattle native. He chose to study political science and history at Butler to live in a new part of the country, while still having the safety of extended family in the area. With the hopes of law school in his future, McCullough had two goals for his last fall vacation: he wanted to do something meaningful, but also escape the Indianapolis cold. He thought of New Orleans first because it was a part of the country he had never visited, so he started researching potential service opportunities.
“I got on the Internet and found dozens of relief organizations, so I literally spent all night sending emails,” McCullough said.
His search led him to Katrina Corps, a grassroots organization formed in December 2006 run entirely by volunteers that undertakes projects in New Orleans. The organization maintains flexibility in the projects it manages and helps rebuild houses and schools.
McCullough immediately decided to recruit his friends to help make his vision a reality. He found five fraternity brothers that were also enthusiastic about the opportunity and continued from there.
“It just came together,” McCullough said, “but getting the money to do it
was the hardest part.”
McCullough petitioned and received a grant from the Sigma Chi chapter to cover their gasoline expenses and then turned his attention to housing. He considered staying with Katrina Corps, which provides lodging for a small fee, but another student going on the trip knew a family that was moving to New Orleans a week after fall break. The family let the students stay in their house free of charge.
“That saved us a lot of money, but it was weird because there was no furniture… literally nothing,” McCullough said.
There was no time to lounge around the empty house, however, because they were kept busy working eight hours a day on the Colton School. The old high school was assigned for demolition, but Katrina Corps did not want the historic building with beautiful architecture and marble to be torn down.
Ray Thomas, project manager and leader of the volunteer effort for Katrina Corps, decided the school was an excellent project for the organization to take on.
“We couldn’t give up on the idea that there is something really positive to come from it,” Thomas said.
With the help of McCullough and his friends, the Colton School was remodeled to become an arts collaborative where children will be able to go after school to learn about different types of art– from painting to sculpting to metal working. The Sigma Chi men helped paint, clean up garbage, install doors and move heavy furniture to help prepare for the school’s opening.
“People were skeptical and said ‘oh, these are the frat guys’ when we came, but we ended up doing the dirty work,” McCullough said. “A lot of it was jobs other volunteers couldn’t or didn’t want to do.”
Thomas agreed that they all showed an excellent work ethic. Scott Lindemann, a long-time friend of McCullough and fellow volunteer on the trip, has always seen this kind of dedication in McCullough. Lindemann, a senior business major at Butler, said he is inspired by McCullough’s hard work.
“Whenever he has a chance to create opportunities, he does,” Lindemann said. “He gets an idea and runs with it. For this [project], he put his time and effort in, and it payed off.”
Katrina Corps wants to promote New Orleans as a city filled with culture and historical firsts, which is why the organization is dedicated to helping its recovery. McCullough said he enjoyed the atmosphere and laid back attitude of culture.
According to Campus Compact, an organization that encourages service-oriented events for students, alternative breaks like McCullough’s are becoming increasingly popular among college students. In 2007, this type of trip was the fourth most popular
civic engagement program universities offered. Although McCullough created his own experience, Butler provides an alternative break opportunity in which 45 students and advisors participated this year.
Thomas said Katrina Corps could not do what it does without the help of volunteers. McCullough is one of over 3000 volunteers that has helped Katrina Corps complete 400 projects in the past two years. The organization inspires its volunteers with the motto “impossible is nothing.” McCullough said through this experience he learned what a difference a few people can make, and that anything truly is possible.
“I had no idea how fun it would be. I’m already looking for opportunities to go back and help because it was so rewarding,” McCullough said. “I really felt like I made an impact.”