Updated: Mon 12:46 AM, Sep 03, 2012
By: Elizabeth Dorsett
NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. (WKYT)- A dozen Asbury University students spend their long Labor Day weekend helping others who are trying to recover following Hurricane Issac.
“A lot of them weren’t entirely sure what they were getting into,” explained Greg Martin, who organized the trip. “They really shocked at what they saw.”
Martin, a 2001 Graduate of Asbury University and founder of “DRAW,” (Disaster Relief At Work) says he would have been going to help storm victims in Issac’s wake no matter what. But he says the addition of 12 current Asbury Students helped make a bigger difference.
“The fact that we were able to take as many people as we did allowed us to accomplish a lot more in a short amount of time for a couple of different communities.”
Martin says his group of 18 volunteers arrived about 24 hours after the rain stopped and were among the first responders to Slidell, Mississippi and Jean Lafitte, Louisiana.
“We drove in to Jean Lafitte and it was as if the roads were like driving to Venice, Italy. You would see water about 2 feet deep in their yards. People would be on porches and have to jump into boat to row out to shed or road bc vehicles stuck where they were.”
Martin and his DRAW volunteers had opportunities to assist with cutting up and moving fallen trees, helping families salvage valuables, patching roofs and offering a listening ear. They also joined up with another service group anf helped to feed more than a thousand people.
Martin says each of the Asbury students has taken a lot away from the experience.
“And we were ready to get involved and start helping as soon as we saw how bad they had it.”
DRAW is based out of Michigan, but Martin is hopeful the group will open chapters across the country soon.