The Student Association will send a group of Syracuse University students to Puerto Rico during Winter Break to help with Hurricane Maria relief efforts.

Twenty volunteers will work with Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, possibly making physical repairs to buildings, passing out meals and organizing donations, said John Jankovic, an SA assemblymember helping organize the trip.

Work requirements for the volunteers may change based on what the SBDR needs, he added.

SA is currently taking applications for the trip and has stressed that students do not need to be religiously affiliated to apply.

The idea for a relief trip began in the first few weeks of the semester, when Jankovic approached SA Vice President Angie Pati to help Houston recover from Hurricane Harvey. From there, SA partnered with Devon Bartholomew, Baptist Campus Ministry associate chaplain.

Pati said relief efforts can’t come only from those directly affected. The SU community will help when a person’s home is destroyed, she added.

When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, plans quickly materialized to organize a second trip to assist with the devastation from that natural disaster. The Houston relief trip will happen during Spring Break.

The SBDR, the third largest relief organization in the United States, reserved 20 beds for SU volunteers, Jankovic said. Jankovic and Bartholomew are both going on the trip, so there will be 18 open positions for students.

The application for the Puerto Rico trip is open, and there will be a subsequent interview process during the second week of November. About 75 students have already applied for the volunteer positions, Jankovic said.

Pati and a student from Puerto Rico will be involved in the interview process.

The trip is funded by Hendricks Chapel and the Office of Student Activities. Each student volunteer will also be required to fundraise $200 for the trip.

Jankovic said he was originally inspired to assist with hurricane relief after he saw the destruction in Houston. He said it reminded him of what Hurricane Sandy did to his home in 2012.

“I was hit by Hurricane Sandy four years ago when it hit New York,” Jankovic said. “We needed help and we got it and I just thought it’d be great to give back as well.”

Jankovic said Puerto Rico is expected to have power by December, but it is not entirely certain when electricity will be restored.

Currently, the only uncertain detail about the trip are the flights students will take to Puerto Rico, he added. But they have already begun working with travel agencies to help arrange transportation.

Other SA updates

SA planned an apple picking event that occurred last Sunday. It funded two buses to take students from campus to Abbott Farms in Baldwinsville for free.

Student Life Committee Chair Elizabeth Sedore planned and oversaw the excursion. SA spent $500 to pay for accessible buses to transport students so that all members of the student body could go, Sedore said.

About 40 people attended the event, which included discounts for students to participate in the corn maze or face painting.

Sedore’s future plans include stress-busting events around final exams. She also plans to partner with other organizations to fundraise for various charities.

Published on October 29, 2017 at 10:27 pm

Contact Catherine: ccleffer@syr.edu | @ccleffert