As time passes, do not forget about flood victims

Marywood University’s men’s lacrosse team hard at work with campus ministry to aid flood victims in West Pittston and Duryea.

It’s been just over one month since floodwaters resulting from Hurricane Irene and tropical storm Lee ravaged several communities across Northeastern Pennsylvania. Thousands of people have experienced damage to property as well as displacement from their homes. The areas surrounding Wilkes-Barre –including West Pittston and Duryea–have been among the hardest hit.

Scranton, and the Marywood University campus, was spared from the flooding. And, consistent with its Catholic identity and core values of service and respect for each person, Marywood pledged to help its neighbors recover from the devastation.

According to Ann O’Brien, Assistant Director of service Learning and Community Service in the office of Campus Ministry, the efforts to help those affected by the flood are threefold; members of the campus community are working to collect monetary donations, amass items, like food and supplies, and organize volunteers to help with the clean-up.

Sixty volunteers assembled to aid the victims of the flood on the very first week of the clean-up efforts, and according to O’Brien, many students have already committed their fall breaks to aiding the flood victims.

Several campus organizations and departments like the family and consumer sciences program in the Keith J. O’Neill Center for Healthy Families are sponsoring food drives to aid the victims. However, many of the collection boxes are still empty. To do our part, the staff of The Wood Word has collected non-perishable food items that it will contribute to this drive.

We ask that you consider the devastation that many local residents still face. Don’t let the people affected by this tragedy be forgotten as we approach the holiday season. We encourage the rest of the members of the campus community to give of their time and talent to continue aiding those affected by the devastating September floods.

Drop a non-perishable food item into one of those cardboard boxes around campus. Or, contact O’Brien to volunteer to help with the clean up.

To become involved in Marywood’s flood relief efforts, visit www.marywood.edu/campmin/flood/ or visit Ann O’Brien at Campus Ministry.