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Students giving village a hand with cleanup
Published April 10, 2009
SURFSIDE BEACH — Images of the devastation Hurricane Ike left behind provided the incentive for 40 New York college students to drive 30 hours to the storm-affected areas of the Texas Gulf Coast.
The Stony Brook University cleanup team was in Surfside Beach on Thursday, working to leave the beachfront better than when it arrived. Earlier in the week, students helped out on Galveston Island and the Bolivar Peninsula.
“We’ve seen all sorts of debris, from shoes and clothes and baby bottles to a house with the front blown out,” said junior Aysha Khan, 20. “It’s crazy.”
The New York group is just one of many who have made the trek to the island since spring break season began. Other students have come from Minnesota and Illinois to help rebuild after the storm.
Mayor Larry Davison said the volunteers have been a great help to islanders because they can pick up jobs work crews are too busy to do.
The New York group removed debris from people’s yards, uprooted stumps of trees sheared off in the storm and gave homes a fresh coat of paint while on the island.
“It’s really been great because they’ve been picking up things and finishing corners we don’t have time to do,” Davison said.
Senior Ariba Hashmi, 22, helped paint Surfside Beach City Hall’s baseboards brown. Previous volunteer groups painted its walls white and borders green.
It’s an interesting color scheme, Davison said.
“It looks like it’s going to be Christmas year-round in Surfside,” Davison said with a laugh.
Ellen Driscoll, a Stony Brook counselor, said this wasn’t the group’s first cleanup. Last year, they assisted with Hurricane Katrina cleanups in New Orleans.
“It’s surprising because you don’t see all the damage from TV,” she said.
Hashmi said her volunteer group could stay in Brazoria County for only one day because they must return to school for the spring semester, which resumes Monday.
Nathaniel Lukefahr covers Surfside Beach for The Facts. Contact him at (979) 237-0151.
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