CPS students volunteer in Louisiana

Four seniors from The College Preparatory School in Oakland will be going with Rebuilding Together to Louisiana on February 19, 2006 to revamp houses damaged by the floods, on the coast west of New Orleans.

Courtesy of Rebuilding Together

In the fall these students helped organize a carnival followed by a school wide lunch to raise funds for hurricane relief. Steve LeCroy, Facilities Director, and Andrew Dean, Dean of Students & Assistant Head of School will accompany the four CPS volunteer students.

“Many of us remember that our neighbors and some of our students’ families were affected by the devastating Oakland fire of 1991. We know what a neighborhood in ruin looks like, and even as time has passed, we know how a devastating natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina can have ongoing effects on the community. It has touched us deeply,” states Dr. Murray Cohen, Head of CPS  “As school began this year, our students quickly pulled together a series of events to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and this opportunity to join with Rebuilding Together will bring our students closer to understanding what a sustained relief effort entails. "

After the students return, they will share their experience with fellow classmates at a school wide forum on February 28, 2006. The February OXFAM forum is one of the many school wide projects and programs that are an integral part of life on CPS campus, including weekly tutoring at local schools, weekly cooking and serving at Berkeley Women’s and Men’s Shelters, maintaining a trail at Point Reyes, working with Habitat for Humanity and Rebuilding Together in the Bay Area, annual design and installation of a children’s playhouse for local shelters and maintaining Frog Park, a children’s playground in Rockridge. Students are encouraged as part of their rounded education to get involved in service-learning projects throughout our community.

Rebuilding Together’s mission is to preserve and revitalize houses and communities, assuring that low-income homeowners, from the elderly and disabled to families with children, live in warmth, safety, and independence. In partnership with communities, our goal is to make a sustainable impact.