From Sept. 29 to Oct. 1, Cornell College’s Civic Engagement Office sponsored a service trip to Mapleton, Iowa to serve in the community’s continuing tornado relief effort. A group of 12 Cornell students and two staff members grabbed their shovels and spent their Block Break planting more than 20 trees and dozens of perennials.
Students and staff worked closely with Mapleton residents and city workers, developing an appreciation for the strength of the community and the complexity of disaster recovery efforts.
Mapleton, a town of 1,400 in Western Iowa, was struck by a tornado on April 9, 2011. Almost 20% of the homes in the community were destroyed, and more than a dozen businesses received extensive damage. Although Mapleton is rebounding from this crisis, the recovery effort has continued throughout the summer and fall.
The students who participated were:
Senior Samantha Hebel
First-year Janessa Weightman
First-year Keiko Bruson
First-year Nathan Spalding
First-year Erin Vick
First-year Erinn Voas
Junior Ariel Harris
First-year Alexis Atkinson
First-year Ashleigh Kanack
First-year Qu Dandan
First-year Tiffany Lawless
First-year Thao Nguyen
For more information about the recovery effort, see http://www.mapleton.com/mapleton_tornado_relief.asp.
