This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SMCVT chapter.
Hurricane Sandy has devastated the tri-state area of New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. Residents are trying to put their lives back together in the aftermath, but it hasn’t been easy. Vermonters, knowing the hardships from Irene, have rallied together to send relief to those affected by Sandy.
Nowhere are these relief efforts more apparent than right here on campus. Many students and faculty have family back in the affected areas and are doing all they can to send help back home. Father Brian, from Jersey, put out a second collection on Sunday, November 18 in Saint Michael’s Chapel to fund M.O.V.E. (Mobilization of Volunteer Efforts) efforts in sending relief to those in New Jersey and New York. The reality of Sandy hit Professor Smith, from Asbury Park, N.J., full force as she sat in her office tearing up over a video of the devastation in her hometown set to a Springsteen tune.
With homelessness and hunger awareness month in November, M.O.V.E. has motivated the student body to contribute to a food drive. They have also asked students to see what it’s like to be homeless by spending some time in a shelter that is dubbed by the students as “the shack.” After a month of raised awareness, the students have been compelled to action in SMC’s outpour of relief to those affected by Sandy. With the funding from Saint Michael’s Chapel, M.O.V.E. will soon be sending care packages to the affected areas.