New group organizing Gulf Coast volunteers

“Y’all come back now, ya hear?”\nFollowing their first trip volunteering in the hurricane-damaged region of the Gulf Coast, IU students Matt Morrow and Mike Deranek borrowed the saying from “The Beverly Hillbillies” for the name of a new organization, Youth Advocating Leadership & Learning, or Y’ALL. \nNow they are helping the famously Southern pronoun evolve from its hillbilly image into one synonymous with leadership and volunteering.\nWitnessing first-hand the devastation of Hurricane Katrina’s wrath on the city of Biloxi, Miss., just months after the storm in 2005, Morrow and Deranek knew the five-day trip wouldn’t be their last.\nThe group plans to return to the region for a sixth trip in early May. About 60 IU students will pay about $175 each for the trip. The money covers the cost of their food and housing.\nY’ALL is holding a call-out meeting to recruit for the trip at 9 p.m. today in Room 211 of the Kelley School of Business.\nUpon returning from their trip in 2005, Morrow and Deranek joined forces to create the organization.\n“You can’t possibly explain what it looks like until you’re down here. These people feel lucky just to be alive,” Morrow said. “The primary focus of Y’ALL is to create an avenue for students at IU to assist those struck in Katrina’s destructive path – and to already have a group for response in disasters to come.”\nY’ALL has pledged three years of service to recovery efforts, which include everything from dry-walling homes to consoling those who lost property and loved ones in the storm. The student-led group will make three trips throughout the year, volunteering for five days in the winter, spring and summer. Volunteers rescue photo albums, dishes and other personal items from black mold that has grown as a result of the flood waters.\n“We really try to push student leadership for those that may not have those skills,” Deranek said. “Everyone should have an opportunity to be a leader.”\n“I can’t think of another organization at IU where leaders have to take students and be responsible for their lives and safety for a whole week,” Morrow said.\nThe group also raises awareness for the continuing need of volunteers in the region, lamenting the perceived lack of assistance provided by the U.S. government.\n“It really is a disgrace for America,” Morrow said. “The area looks like something you’d see in a third world country.”\nEven after leading five different groups to the Gulf Coast, Morrow and Deranek said the work is nowhere close to being finished. With damage estimated at more than $100 billion, officials say it could take nearly 10 years to rebuild certain sections of New Orleans and surrounding areas.\n“The general public opinion is that everything is fixed down there, but really there is so much more to be done,” Deranek said. “You have to remember that these people, these stories are real – and that’s what keeps us going back.”\nDeranek and Morrow have created a similar branch at Purdue and hope to carry the message to more universities where students can create similar clubs.\n“Having students come up to you after a trip, saying it was the best experience of their life – it’s just really awesome,” Morrow said. “I’m going to take it with me for the rest of my life.”