It's OK to Cry, A poem from Bob

Bob McGrath is a 1950 SBU alum who is as hard of worker as any of our volunteers.  He worked with us in Galveston Texas after Hurricane Ike and recently in Tuscaloosa Alabama after their tornadoes. He is picture of him (and a group) at Mr. Beesely's house in Holt (near Tuscaloosa) where we worked for most of a day (partially with a crew from EWTN).  Bob is back row with green Star cap on.

While a very hard worker, he is also a poet.  Here is his most recent work on BonaResponds:

 It's OK to cry when the work is done

April Twenty Seventh Two Thousand and Eleven

People in Alabama all looked up to heaven,

Tornados were approaching, the sirens they did scream

         One struck with such a fury few folks have ever seen.

The need was overwhelming and many people died

         The folks in Alabama were sustained by their pride,

Five thousand houses damaged, many beyond repair

         Emotions ranged from hope and faith to gloom and despair

Many of the people who were witnessing the scene

         Sat in their living room by their television screen,

Most everyone agreed that the people needed aid

         That help in this disaster just could not be delayed.

A few college students up in Olean, New York

         Said we can all do something or we can sit and talk,

St. Bonaventure students were joined by friends and grads

         The college students rushed to help, joined by moms and dads.

Bona Responds was on the move, young and old alike

         Their thoughts were with the victims, just like Hurricane Ike,

The call went out, tweets were sent, off to Alabama,

Everyone involved feared a frightful panorama.

Vans were packed with students, a professor there to lead

         The drive was eighteen hours to help the folks in need,

They drove to Tuscaloosa with a rake, a tool, a glove

         The main thing that they brought with them; lots and lots of love.

Trees were cut and hauled away, debris was sifted through

         Tears and hugs were shared by all, with story telling too,

Chain saws buzzed throughout the day, and long into the night

         At sunrise the group set out as soon as it was light.

Clearing up the land was an important thing to do

         But lifting people’s spirits made the agenda too,

The Bonnies students worked real hard, also had some fun

All agreed, It’s OK To Cry When The Work Is Done.

YouTube - Gutting in Galveston TX

When I was putting together the video from this weekend, I found this that had never been uploaded from spring break. Enjoy. I will look for others.

YouTube - Gutting in Galveston TX: "A video from the BonaResponds Spring Break 2009 trip. Gutting a house in Galveston Texas."

Ike the documentary

Some students from Galveston have put together a movie project on Ike and its aftermath. Here is a trailer that is EXCELLENT!




The movie premiers this month. Money goes to the Galveston schools.
Wow....thanks @help4Galveston for pointing this one out.

From the BV: Bona's responds to Ike's aftermath - Features

Good article from the BV on our trip to Galveston.

Bona's responds to Ike's aftermath - Features

Some highlights:

"BonaResponds spent Feb. 27 to March 7 cleaning two miles of road, hanging drywall, wrapping and insulating houses, rough wiring (doing preliminary electrical work before electricians come in) and gutting homes, which includes knocking water-damaged walls down in order to put new ones up.

The group flew into Houston, stayed in a Galveston church and slept in sleeping bags or on cots."

and

"The work ethic of the students, especially the women, impressed Hammond.

"The girls worked as hard, if not harder, than the guys, and let me tell you this was hard, dirty work," Hammond wrote. "We're talking nail guns, circular saws, jack hammers and saber saws. The girls were not shy at all about using these power tools and got to be quite good. I think I witnessed some pent-up aggression with these girls using the power tools."

Overall, the dedication of students, alumni and leaders provided a significant contribution in the cleanup process."

Read the whole thing here.

Bob's Poem

One day in March I met a group, they came from Olean,

St. Bonaventure was their home, their motto, “Yes We Can”.

They were a young and lively group, just doing a good deed,

The purpose of their trip was clear, some people were in need.

Some students slept in sleeping bags, a few slept on the floor,

And even though the work was hard, they said, “We can do more”.

“Bona Responds” was on the ground, both boys and girls alike,

The hurricane we all recall, its name was simply Ike.

A lot of people needed help, and help was hard to get,

And so the students came to help, people they never met.

When Ike left town it left a mess, with water everywhere,

In every house and every room, it even fouled the air.

They cleaned up trash along the road, for more than several miles,

The natives thanked them one and all, with words and food and smiles.

They tore down homes whose days were done, fixed up many others,

A privilege to know them all, future dads and mothers.

The kids went home late in the week, they wanted no applause,

When asked, “Why did you give so much”?, they answered “just because”.

And so a toast to all involved, “Galveston’s Adventure”,

The team who came to render aid, from St. Bonaventure.

Bob McGrath

Class of 1950

The proud winner of the “Bad A” paper plate award

Galveston, Texas 2009

More Pictures

Uploaded more pictures from the Galveston trip.

A fast look back at Galveston

We are back from a week of volunteering in and around Galveston Texas with BonaResponds. It was a good trip. While the trip was far from perfect, much work got done and most of the 44 volunteers both helped the victims and grew from the experience.

The work was spotty (especially later in the week) but in parts very good. A partial list (mainly from memory) was that we cleaned over 2 miles of road, gutted about 6 homes, helped drywall a home, helped roof and put up interior walls and ceilings at one home, helped put up siding on one house, helped rough wire a house, wrapped the exterior of one house, installed electric for RV parking, moved a family, painted several interiors, and sandblasted and painted 17 bunk beds.

All in all a productive week.

Galveston was different from most places we have been. Parts of the city looked normal while others looked horrible. Moreover, it was seemingly a ghost town once you got off the main streets. I am not sure what part of this is because it was a vacation area for many, and what portion of it is that people have just given up and moved on.

Galveston was also home to some of the worst housing conditions I have seen rivaling even the poor parts of New Orleans or East Biloxi. Many of the homes were horrible before the storm and are now simply dangerous (indeed gutting was halted in one house as the ceilings and exterior walls seemed to be giving way with every hammer blow).

Did we solve the problems of the residents? No, but for many, we did make things better and that is all we can really hope to do.

I also would be remiss if I did not point out the superb leadership of Steve and Rob. Simply a great job guys. Thanks!

Group shot BonaResponds-Galveston

Group shot-
Originally uploaded by FinanceProfessor.

In spite of camera problems, we did get quite a pictures (and many more to come) online.

They are available here.

Logistics, Logistics, Logistics

It has been a day. From delayed flights, to traffic, to changing sites not once but two times. But it is seemingly a case of all is well that ends well.

The last volunteer just landed. I am sitting in the airport waiting for her. The two vans are packed but presuming we get back safely, it will be 36 volunteers in to camp.

The camp is down near the water:


View Larger Map




I will write more (probably) when we get back. Also be sure to keep checking Twitter. It is updated regularly throughout the day.

Who we will be working with in Galveston

The C4C Relief organization index:

"Our mission is to provide first response disaster relief and recovery due to natural and man-made disasters . To provide a haven for those in need of fellowship, spiritual guidance, meals and supplies to recover and rebuild their lives. To uphold our core values of Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control.

We will accomplish this by partnering with other organizations, in order to make relief efforts more efficient. For short term volunteer groups, we will provide disaster relief training, accommodations and meals, and coordinate work projects in order to make it possible and efficient for these groups to help in relief efforts."

They also have a blog but it is not updated that often.

Here are some quotes from their website:

" There is great need and much severe destruction in Galveston, with most residences and residents of this city of 60,000 affected. This is not just a wealthy vacation resort area, there are all economic classes here."
*"We are currently scheduling teams and individuals for the kitchen, clean up and muck out crews, skilled construction, and camp set-up."
* "During our 2 1/2 years of operation in Mississippi, C4C/GKI served well over 1.5 million hot meals, served over 10,000 families through our distribution center, coordinated and put to work over 50,000 volunteers from short-term volunteer groups, housing 20,000 at our campus, worked at over 500 properties, and completely rebuilt 16 houses, 2 restaurants, and a counseling center."

We will be staying with the C4C Relief organization. I am not yet sure if they will be organizing our work or if another group will be. I am speaking with Vicki tomorrow (Friday) and will give you a much better idea of what to bring etc.

Oh and here is a map of the area.


View Larger Map

Important information for those interested in going to Texas

BonaResponds-Galveston Important information

By Noon FRIDAY all people who want to go with BonaResponds to Galveston must have forms and deposit submitted and flight information entered.

For more info see:
http://bonaresponds.blogspot.com/search/label/Galveston

IF THERE IS ANY REASON WHY YOU CAN NOT DO SO, EMAIL BONARESPONDS@SBU.edu ASAP You will not have a place to stay in Galveston if you wait.

Money and forms can be left with Jenifer Spencer (upstairs in Murphy), Rob Ryer, or Mike Kasperski.

BonaResponds in the News

From Today's SBU News:

"Students will learn a new meaning to spring break this year when
BonaResponds travels to Texas to aid in hurricane recovery. This warm-weather
break will not be about soaking up rays on a beach; students will be
volunteering their time to clean up debris and rebuild houses."

The picture is from work in Western New York, but the idea is the same :)

Forms for the trip

Additional forms that need to be filled out by anyone going...

Contact info, Insurance info, release form

BTW we do still have room, so tell your friends and your professors, family members etc. I reserved 50 spots and don't want to waste spots. So let's try to get the word out! No other faculty or staff have yet signed up nor community members.

BonaResponds Texas Travel form

If you are going to Galveston, please fill this out as soon as possible. Thanks!

We still have room. See previous blog entries for more info.

BonaResponds Galveston Spring Break Trip

BonaResponds will be going to Galveston Texas for Spring Break. The trip is the most flexible we have ever had.

Overview: you fly into Houston and we get you to Galveston to work. The work is still uncertain but will be some gutting and some rebuilding. No experience is necessary, just a willingness to help others while working hard and having fun.

Due to housing capacity issues, we can only take fifty people this time. Given pre-announcement demand, this will fill up. So act fast.

Arrive in Houston (George Bush Airport is preferred) either Friday (Feb 27th) night, Saturday, or Sunday (again housing issues are a limiting factor they do not have much room at volunteer shelters for Friday or Saturday). Vans will run from the airport at 8pm on Friday, three and 8pm on Saturday, and 6 pm on Sunday (more vans will be added if we have to, but would like to try and keep these times).

If you can't come for the whole time, we ask that you schedule flights in and out that are outside the regular workday since vans will be needed to transport people to and from work sites.


Departures can be Friday or Saturday. Friday vans will be to the airport 6AM, noon. Saturday 6AM. (again more may be arranged).

The cost of the trip will be $50 in excess of the transportation costs. That will pay for food and a place to stay, necessary tools, and a tee shirt.

If costs is a prohibitory factor, please please please let us know. We will try and help you get some sponsorship money.

Be sure to bring a sleeping bag, work boots, work clothes, work gloves, a camera, cell phone charger, sunscreen, and a water bottle.

more details (and hopefully in a more clear format will be available soon).

Thanks!!

My quote for upcoming article on the Galveston trip

"Just because it has not been in the news as much as past natural disasters does not mean the people do not need help. The news cycle was different this year: there was an election and a recession to cover. Galveston got swept away both literally and figuratively."

BonaResponds Spring Break Trip Announcement

This was just sent to the SBU Notice Board:

BonaResponds Spring Break trip

BonaResponds meeting Thursday at 8:30PM Murphy Aud. The main topic of the meeting will be the Spring Break trip (Space on the Spring Break trip will be limited so if you want to go on the trip, you should attend the meeting!)

We will primarily be going to Galveston Texas but depending on the number of volunteers and leaders who wish to go we may break into different groups like in the past and go to multiple sites.

Many more details will be announced at the meeting.


PS We need volunteers this coming weekend for three local jobs. While not as glamorous as helping in a disaster area, they are a good way to insure your space on the spring break trip!