St. John's News

By Kari Mocci

On Wednesday, September 28, students and administrators of Campus Ministry from both the Queens and Staten Island campuses and the St. John’s Chapter of Habitat for Humanity participated in “Operation Home Delivery,” Habitat’s hurricane relief effort. The project, sponsored by NBC News’ The Today Show, Habitat for Humanity International and Warner Music Groups, transformed Rockefeller Plaza into Humanity Plaza from September 26 until September 30. For five days, Humanity Plaza became an around-the-clock construction zone in which house frames were built and shipped to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Photo Gallery
Reflections by Fr. Tri Duong, C.M., Campus Ministry

The St. John’s volunteers arrived on site at 1 a.m. ready and eager to work. The members of the group contributed their efforts in various ways, such as; constructing house frames, loading trucks, running errands and assisting the team leaders. While each task required different skills and abilities, they were all a necessary part of the relief process and equally rewarding. After four hours of strenuous work, the shift came to an end; by 5 a.m. on Wednesday morning, fifteen homes had been assembled, loaded and shipped to victims of Hurricane Katrina. At the conclusion of the project on Friday, over sixty homes had been completed; that is sixty families whose lives volunteers helped make better by simply donating a few hours of time. 

Despite lack of sleep and early classes, the overall experience was incredibly rewarding. Knowing that our services, if only for a few hours, helped change someone’s life instills a sense of pride and satisfaction. The victims of Hurricane Katrina our relying on the help of others to survive the disaster; volunteering to help in the relief effort is a small, but necessary step in improving someone’s life. By participating in “Operation Home Delivery” we are helping to provide a home for families to begin to rebuild their lives.