Day 2

I am one of the 29 students in the DeVos 2010 class who has been touched by the people of New Orleans. I worked on a house with 3 other classmates and we did not know … what the condition of the house was before we walked into it. We went in with the mentality that we are here to work and that we will do whatever we need to do to help the family get into their home as soon as possible. We know that Hurricane Katrina hit the city of New Orleans four years ago, Aug 29, and many families have not been able to move into their home, which is obscene. My classmates and I came together diligently with the mindset that we needed to work efficiently yet make sure that we treated this house as if it were ours. We were instructed by Jon a 22 year old man from AmeriCorps. He showed us how to put up dry wall. We quickly worked as a team and found a system that we stuck by, which helped us come close to finishing all the dry wall on the ceiling of the first floor of the house. I am very thankful for Mr. Rich DeVos for funding this trip and giving me the opportunity to give back to people in need. “Hands that serve are holier than lips that pray” – Sai Baba

Shayain J. Gustavsp is a member of the DeVos 2010 class and has been to New Orleans 4times.

As always I have had another inspiring first day on a Hope For Stanley trip. I am proud to see so many DeVos students on the trip and I have already met some great people. These individuals remind me why I continually come back. I am always amazed to see the different house leaders who dedicate their lives to helping rebuild New Orleans. Although we didn’t meet the owners of the house we worked on, we have heard how much they truly appreciate the work all the volunteers do, which is why I persistently come back. Even though I’m out of school and in the real world, I have every intention of coming back to New Orleans as long there is a need. I leave New Orleans inspired every time I visit because the people are really are so uplifting with their optimism despite so much tragedy.

Ray Mathew was a member of the DeVos 2009 class and has been to New Orleans 4 times.