A group of Elizabethtown College students and employees volunteered their time over winter break to remodel homes impacted by past hurricanes in North Carolina as part of Etown’s Center for Community and Civic Engagement’s (CCCE) Winter Break Service Trip on Dec. 9-14.

“Going to North Carolina to help fix someone’s home after construction fraud following a hurricane in 2018, I realized that we gave people more than just their home back, we gave them hope,” Occupational Therapy major Cassie Paschos ’24 said. “The day you give someone hope is the day a memory forms from what you did for someone. As the women who we helped said, ‘When you give you also receive.’”

The group of Blue Jays was fortunate enough to experience firsthand the impact their service had on those they were helping, as they had the privilege of meeting the new homeowner of the house they were helping to remodel.

“Meeting the people we were serving and being a part of their community for a few days was amazing,” Public Health and Political Science major Elsa Woodarek ’26 said. “It made what we were doing so meaningful.”

The service initiative marked the College’s first winter break trip in over two years as seven Etown students, along with Director of the CCCE Javita Thompson and Program Coordinator of the CCCE Leda Werner, traveled to New Bern, N.C. to work with the Craven County Disaster Recovery Alliance (CCDRA).

“My first winter break trip at Elizabethtown College will always hold a special place in my heart,” Thompson said. “I am thankful for the opportunity to engage firsthand in service. And the best part is sharing the chance to serve with students. Partnering with Craven County Disaster Recovery Alliance was a huge success.”

The CCDRA is a long-term recovery group that was formed after Hurricane Matthew hit eastern North Carolina in October 2016. Their vision is to continue assisting those still affected by Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Florence with long-term recovery and unmet needs assistance and to be an ongoing resource for all future disasters that will happen again in Craven County.

“Being able to be involved in (CCDRA’s) work on this trip gave me more appreciation for all of the blessings that I have in my life,” Occupational Therapy major Kylie Evoy ’24 said. “I believe it would benefit all Etown students to do a service trip like this before they graduate.”