Acorn

Issue date: 3/28/08 Section: Opinions

Media Credit: Mark Stratton The author, fourth from left, with her fellow build-mates.

It was Wednesday night of Spring Break-I assume a lot of Drewids were honing their Guitar Hero skills, wreaking havoc in Florida or studying for dreaded midterms. I was sitting in the back of a minivan, driving through some town on the Mississippi coast and listening to Celine Dion's greatest hits.

The broader explanation, of course, is that I joined 13 other Drewids in Habitat for Humanity's trip to Slidell, La. And quite often I found myself in situations like those in the van, where I couldn't wrap my head around what I was actually doing. It brought me to places I'd never been, with people I never would have met. It's the uniqueness of the organization, the stand-alone concept behind our purpose that amazes me. There is an abundance of volunteer opportunities on campus, but to me, nothing is quite like Habitat. It takes the real disaster around the corner, and gives volunteers the opportunity to not just fundraise, or hand out flyers-it gives you a hammer and makes your contribution concrete and real, a physical manifestation of altruism at its best.

I never anticipated going on a Habitat trip. I just assumed I wouldn't have the money or time. But when I couldn't bear the idea of another spring break of vegetating in South Jersey, I went for it on a whim. What I found after our two-day road trip to the bustling New Orleans suburb, however, was an opportunity unlike so many others. The kind of volunteerism we see at Drew, or any college really, feels so distant and removed from anything productive. I'm sure every spare nickel we give to groups tabling in the University Center count, and I'm sure every donated children's book gets read, but there is always that desire to see the progress, to live in it. We're overwhelmed every single day with despondent images on CNN, with a laundry list of world problems that need to be solved, with the plight of so many human beings far more unfortunate than any Drewid. And putting up flyers, sending out emails or raising money feels motionless-it does little to dispel any growing frustration with the state of affairs.

I am confident and wholeheartedly aware these actions are extremely important and do accomplish a range of pertinent goals, and in no way do I want to belittle the hard work of others. It's just that sometimes, you need more.

Continued...

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