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All vocational schools offer their students real-world skills and employment opportunities. But as the only four-year co-ed Catholic vocational high school in America, Mercy Vocational High School (MVHS) encourages its students to apply those skills in the name of service, too.

So it comes as no surprise that when Hurricane Katrina devastated entire Gulf Coast communities, the students of MVHS were eager to lend a hand. Our students are no strangers to adversity – 86% of Mercy Vocational students are “at-risk” (defined by federal guidelines as those with learning disabilities, severe domestic disturbance, neighborhood violence, low family income, chronic illness, etc.) and 60% come from families living at or below the poverty level. Thus, our service learning project was born and named Operation Katrina.

MVHS connected with another Mercy ministry, Mercy Housing and Human Development (MHHD) in Gulfport, MS. MHHD is the conduit for our service learning trip; they connect us to the places that need our skills.

Since our first trip in 2006, the Operation Katrina teams have repaired the foundation of Our Mother of Mercy Church in Pass Christian, MS, dry-walled the church hall, repaired or renovated over 15 homes, and participated in the construction of more than 5 new homes. The students perform tasks such as installing new flooring, hanging insulation, dry walling, updating electrical work, painting, caulking, and even landscaping.

We also provided business support for three non-profit organizations.  Our students helped organize a website to help the local community register for housing funding, created databases to track survivor needs, and even taught office workers how to use a SMART Board™, an interactive white board used for presentations and teaching various home-ownership classes.

The students learn about commitment, teamwork, and stepping out of their “comfort zone.”  This is unique because many of our students do not have an opportunity to travel outside of the Philadelphia area. The Operation Katrina service learning trip provides a win-win situation: Survivors of Hurricane Katrina benefit as well as our students, who learn the value of applying skills acquired in the classroom to serve and fulfill a greater purpose.

Mercy Vocational High School plans to return to Mississippi during Easter break 2010.

 

Related Links:

• Operation Katrina 2209 Wikispaces

* YouTube video views since this project was published at TrueHero.com