Continued support

While most students were recovering from finals, 120 students kicked off their winter break by spending six days in Mississippi and Louisiana.\nWith financial assistance from the IU Student Association, IU’s Youth Advocating Leadership and Learning organization took about 120 students on its seventh trip to help with the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. Sixty students went to Biloxi, Miss., while 60 students made the trip to New Orleans.\nSenior Mike Deranek, executive committee member of Y’ALL, said this was his sixth time going to the Hurricane Katrina relief area with the group.\nDeranek said he loves going to help with the relief efforts because of the group dynamic that is formed.\n“There were 60 young people that were willing to (give up) a week to help those in need,” Deranek said. “Every one of them, through the good and the bad times, was able to smile.”\nY’ALL was formed in 2005 when 200 IU students went to Mississippi to help the relief effort after Hurricane\nKatrina destroyed or damaged many areas that year, Deranek said.\nThe group focused on areas in Mississippi such as Biloxi, Ocean Springs and Pass Christian. The areas were severely damaged by the hurricane but were not receiving media attention, Deranek said.\nIU senior Malia Foytich also went to Biloxi with Y’ALL this past winter break. For Foytich, the most memorable part of the trip was seeing the progress made when the group cleared an entire block that had not been touched since the hurricane hit.\nStudents helped demolish a house, did yard work, put up dry wall and painted the exterior, Deranek said. Y’ALL volunteers helped draw media attention back to the relief effort in Biloxi, which made more volunteers come out to help, Deranek said.\nWhile students were transforming a street block in Biloxi, the other 60 Y’ALL members assisted with the hurricane relief effort in New Orleans. \nThere, the students spent six days working with local agencies such as the food bank and animal shelters, Evan Holloway, senior and co-founder of Y’ALL , said.\nDespite less manual labor in New Orleans, Holloway said he loved going to help in any way he could with the relief effort.\n“New Orleans has some of the nicest people you will ever meet,” Holloway said. “They feel forgotten about and that the rest of the country is moving on. Any time they find volunteers, they are excited and grateful.”\nIn order to make the trip possible, Y’ALL teamed up with the University of Louisiana at Monroe relief and Hands On New Orleans, Deranek said. Y’ALL also received financial assistance from the IU Student Association.\nDeranek, Foytich and Holloway encourage any IU student to get involved with the organization.\n“I love it and encourage any student who has thought about it to do it because it is one of the most eye-opening experiences that I (have) had,” Foytich said.\nThe organization plans to take spring break and May trips, Holloway said. Call-out meetings for the organization will be held at the end of January.