By Michelle D’Onofrio, Volunteer Coordinator

The month of January has been a busy and exciting time for Rebuilding Together New Orleans! The beginning of 2011 brought Alternative Winter Break volunteers from across the country to New Orleans to take part in the city’s rebuilding efforts. Alternative Winter Break trips took place after the holidays, during student’s break right before classes. These trips have become very popular with several colleges and universities around the country. We are thrilled that out of the many wonderful organizations, many college students chose to use their free time before classes to come make a difference with RTNO.

Over 10 colleges and universities participated in this January’s alternative winter break with RTNO. RTNO also worked with university groups and organizations such as Hillel, InterVarsity, and some individual groups, bringing our monthly volunteer totals to over 220 volunteers! Establishing relationships with colleges and universities across the country has allowed our winter break volunteer effort to expand. Many of January’s volunteers are part of groups that have been working with RTNO for several years. Our returning college groups include Michigan State University, Wheaton College, Hunter College, Chapman University, Fairfield University, and North Shore Community College. Our new groups include CUNY Hillel and York College. Our volunteers have traveled from the Midwest, East Coast, and California to build with us.

January’s volunteers worked on over 20 homes in the Gentilly and Hollygrove neighborhoods, which allowed many projects to be completed or to reach their final stages. Their work included exterior paint jobs, landscaping, fence builds, weatherization, and final touch-up work. Many families are one step closer to moving back into their homes, because of the strong volunteer effort in the new year. After visiting work sites and speaking with the student volunteers, it is humbling to see so many young people from across the country give their time and work hard for the families of New Orleans. Even with this month’s chilly mornings and cloudy days, volunteers braved the elements with a smile on their faces. Young people always bring their energy, perseverance, and excitement to the rebuilding effort and we are truly indebted to them for their service to our community. We hope to see many returning faces next January and we also look forward to welcoming new groups to our Alternative Winter Break.

Interested in planning an alternative winter break for your college or university? Want more information about volunteering? Contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Michelle D’Onofrio, at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).