Abbie Foster travels to Louisiana to help families in need

2015 Mar 17

Abbie Foster, senior accountancy & finance major from Quincy, Ill., was among six Culver-Stockton College students that traveled with Dr. Steve Long and C-SC's Chaplain Amanda Sorenson to complete a service project in Slidell, La., for the Annual Spring Break Mission Trip.

For this service trip, C-SC partnered with the Epworth Project to help people who are still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, as well as with families affected by poverty that cannot maintain their homes.

The group worked to repair a home of a family with five children. They began repairs in a bedroom that belonged to the oldest son and in the family's laundry room. Students replaced drywall on the ceiling that had collapsed due to a leak in the roof.

"A great part of this trip was getting to know the family whose home we were working on and their neighbors who shared their experiences and stories with us," said Sorenson. "One afternoon several in the group put down their tools and went out to play with the kids. This is just as important as putting up drywall."

While there, the group also took a day off from working to take a tour of the areas still working to recover from the devastation of the Hurricane Katrina in 2005. They were also able to experience the local culture by visiting the French Quarter in New Orleans.

"Every person we met from the French Quarter expressed gratitude to our group for the work we did and for recognizing that they are still recovering, which meant a great deal to our whole group," said Sorenson. "Seeing the area and how far they have come, but also how much more recovery there is to be done, is very eye opening and really gave us a new perspective."

The Spring Break Mission Trip is an annual event for Culver-Stockton College students. In recent years, students have traveled to assist those in need in Washington and Pennsylvania.

"It is always incredible to see how a group of students, some who didn't know each other before the trip, can come together and accomplish so much. The students were so determined to finish the project, they were willing to get up early and work long days to get it done. They also decided on their own to pool their money and purchase paint for the room, so the teenager living there could chose the color and really make it his own."