Crusaders Making a Difference in St. Clement of Rome Catholic Church and School in Metairie, LA
Crusaders Make a Difference Volunteering in New Orleans
Cardinal Newman Class of 2013 alumni Michael Carabello, John Daniell, and Maria Ruggiero and current senior Melissa Carabello recently participated in the Catholic Heart Work Camp in New Orleans, Louisiana, making a difference in a region still recovering from the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina eight years ago. The school would become their home for the next six days, as the volunteers for the camp had to sleep in classrooms and use makeshift showers outdoors constructed from PVC piping. They began their mornings at 5am, attending daily morning mass at 5:30. Maria, a recipient of the President Obama’s Volunteer Service Award for accumulating over 1000 volunteer hours over the past year, and John spent their first day sprucing up St. Clement of Rome, repainting school hallways and the parking lot, but would spend their remaining workdays with Habitat for Humanity, helping to finish the construction of a home in Central New Orleans near the shadow of the Superdome. Melissa spent her week volunteering in another school, preparing it to reopen for the first time since Katrina. Michael had perhaps the most difficult job of the group, virtually constructing a bathroom on his own in a home for a nun and her elderly mother, working hours on end in the small space. Michael and Melissa’s mother, Kelly, joined the group in New Orleans, volunteering at a community garden and helping fix up a home damaged by Katrina in the Lower Ninth Ward. While there, she leaned that the house she was working in was almost entirely under water during the storm. When returning each day, the groups would quickly shower and the head off to an evening worship program, often lasting until 9 or 10 in the evening. Michael often found himself drafted into the activities of the program, performing on stage numerous times during the trip, including warning the campers of an impending “bear” attack. It is unfortunate Mr. Kelly of the English Department was not there to protect them. What an amazing way to spend the beginning of your summer Crusaders!