2007 Headlines
Johnson School Students Give Back in New Orleans
Team Spends Week with Habitat for Humanity
December 10, 2007 - Ithaca, NY - On December 12, a team of 10 Johnson School MBA students and three of their guests will head to New Orleans to spend a week volunteering for the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity. The team plans to work in St. Bernard Parish which remains one of the most devastated communities in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, with every residential and commercial unit suffering significant structural damage. The students will stay with other volunteers at Camp Hope, a converted school that provides basic housing for volunteers.
Led by Jim Bride (MBA '08), the team consists of: Kelli Jones (MBA '09), Jisun Kim (MBA '09), Junghae Lee (MBA '08), Ohsoon Park (MBA '09), Dawn Randall (MBA '08), Ben Rollins (MBA '09), Yotaro Tai (MBA '09), and Matt Wagner (MBA '09), and Michelle Wonsley (MBA/ILR '08). The four other participants include Nicole Rollins, Nicole Wagner, and Kennis Wooten.
Dawn Randall and Michelle Wonsley led the successful fundraising efforts which raised over $7,000 through corporation donations from Chevron, Pixel Lounge, Maxies Super Club, and Triad Foundation; student organization donations from the Healthcare and Biotech Club, Net Impact, and the Strategic HR, Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness Group; alumni donations; and grassroots fundraisers including a bake sale and pasta dinners. The funds will be used to offset travel and housing expenses while in New Orleans and will provide for a $1,500 donation to New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity.
After spending many weeks working in Mississippi during the fall of 2005, Bride felt compelled to return to the Gulf Coast. "I wanted to do my part to address the devastation that has affected over a million Americans. While in Mississippi, I was amazed at the destruction wrought by nature, but also deeply moved by the resilience of the people that I met."
Ben Rollins also previously spent time working in the Southeast after the hurricanes. The year before he came to the Johnson School he volunteered in Beaumont Texas and helped build 25 houses with the local Habitat for Humanity. "I worked alongside several families who had lost everything in the hurricane, but they were extremely grateful to Habitat and all the volunteers for helping them get back into a home. Seeing the struggles in the area gave me a greater appreciation for all that my wife and I have been blessed with."
New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity (NOAHH), an independent affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization. NOAHH builds new houses in partnership with sponsors, volunteers, communities, and homeowner families to eliminate poverty housing in the New Orleans area while serving as a catalyst to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action. Since its inception in 1983, NOAHH has built over 179 new homes for low-income families in need of adequate shelter. In the next five years, NOAHH plans to build 1,500 homes in Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines Parishes. www.habitat-nola.org
