Galveston, Texas
Dear Friends,
These past two weeks, Jewish Disaster Response Corps (JDRC) volunteers worked in Galveston, Texas to assist in the ongoing recovery effort following Hurricane Ike. We brought 30 students who spent their vacation volunteering with us.
We worked with One Mission Galveston, the largest recovery effort in the city. We hung sheet rock, painted houses, helped individuals move back into their homes, and more.
I would like to thank the local Jewish community for their warm welcome. They housed us, fed us, and helped us navigate the local area and community. I would like to especially thank Melissa Tabin of the Jewish Family Services who helped in more ways than I can list.
The destruction we saw was devastating. A year and a half after the storm, the city has barely begun to rebuild. The JDRC will be traveling back to Galveston in March to build upon the work of our January mission.
I would like to thank everyone who helped make this trip a success: those who came on the trip, those who helped with planning, and those who supported the trip financially and logistically. Thank you all, or as they say in Texas, y'all, for your help and support for the JDRC.
Elie Lowenfeld
Check out the photos: Week 1, Week 2