Campus Crusade prepares for New Orleans project

For spring break Austin Community College students affiliated with the Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU) will head to New Orleans to take part in a reconstruction project with other Texas schools.

"It's not just our group going, it's a huge group going," said Toni McKinney, president of the ACC chapter of CRU and a student at the Northridge Campus.

Students from across the country will be putting up sheet rock, gutting houses and cleaning parks as part of an effort led by the CRU's Red River Region.

Regional staff is expecting more than 10,000 students and volunteers to participate during a four-week period in March.

"The national media portrays [New Orleans] as 'everything is back to normal,'" said John Achilles of CRU. "But the damage that has occurred, and how slow the progress has been, and the amount of work that needs to be done … it is very eye-opening."

"There are porches left with no houses," McKinney said. "The military markings are still on houses, but it's gone back to life."

CRU has a history of regularly organizing reconstruction efforts on a national level. From providing shelter to evacuees, weekend and summer trips to the city and the army of volunteers during spring break, ACC students have consistently volunteered.

"Everyone's excited about it," McKinney said. "I'm excited about it; it will be my third trip to New Orleans."

Students with CRU were also involved in a project in Dallas in early January in conjunction with the region's Dallas Winter Conference. Ten ACC students took part with nearly 1,200 students from across the United States.

For the last 12 years, ACC students affiliated with CRU have traveled to the Ukraine, New York City and East Asia.

ACC Campus Crusade Vice President Cherisse Davis traveled to New Orleans with other students during the fall semester.

"It was great to visit the people," said Davis. "They were very grateful for any help at all and it was interesting to hear their stories."

Davis said that ACC students slept on cots and helped residents any way they could. They tore down condemned houses and collected garbage later disposed of by the city.

This year's group will stay in a hotel near the French Quarter throughout the week. Previous trips have not been as organized, according to Achilles. Students were subsequently housed in churches and warehouses.

"FEMA has pulled out of New Orleans for the most part," said Achilles. "They are no longer providing housing, so churches are very limited for what they can provide."

Students expressed excitement about traveling to help in the reconstruction during their break, and campus CRU leaders said that 10 ACC students have registered.

"I had never been to New Orleans, so I didn't know what to expect," said Davis. "It was shocking … there were buildings all over with watermarks."