Paying It Forward: The Transformative Aspects of Volunteering After Hurricane Katrina

Abstract

On August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina struck Southeastern Louisiana and Southern Mississippi causing numerous fatalities, devastating many communities and destroying property through extensive flooding, and wind damage. In the immediate after-math of the storm, thousands of people sought to help Katrina’s displaced victims. Although some of these responders were professionals, volunteers who donated their time, skills, and resources to assist those in need constituted a large part of the recovery process. In this article, we examine the effects of volunteering on a group of volunteers who were involved in clean up, remodeling and reconstruction efforts in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans; an area hardest hit by the storm. The participants in this study belonged to a relief program that was initiated after the hurricane to identify and organize volunteer efforts in New Orleans. Volunteers were involved in gutting homes, painting and remodeling activities. As participants in this study they filled out a demographic data form and survey after completion of the volunteer activity. The goal of the study was to explore how the experience had changed them personally, interpersonally, and professionally. In addition, one third of the volunteers were randomly selected to participate in a face-to-face interview. We hypothesized that volunteering would first, increase cultural and class awareness and decrease ethnocentrism, racism and prejudice; second, increase individuals’ willingness to help and participate in volunteer activities in their own communities and third, contribute to the development of a critical perspective towards the media. Given the devastation of the storm and its impact on the nation, volunteer activities predictably had several transformative effects on volunteers.