Bonaresponds - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

BonaResponds is a service based organization in the United States.

Inception

Formed in late 2005 in response to the devastation on the Gulf Coast caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

Hurricane Rita

Hurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. Rita caused $11.3 billion in damage on the U.S. Gulf Coast in September 2005...

, the organization is closely tied to Saint Bonaventure University

St. Bonaventure University

St. Bonaventure University is a private, Franciscan Catholic university, located in Allegany, Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. It has roughly 2,400 undergraduate and graduate students....

in Allegany, New York

Allegany (town), New York

Allegany is a town in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. The population was 8,230 at the 2000 census.The Town of Allegany is on the south border of the county, west of the City of Olean. There is a village called Allegany inside this town....

. Its members consist of current students, faculty, staff, alumni and other members of the Bonaventure and Western NY community. BonaRespond's mission is to "make the difference" by volunteering to help those in need or those who have been affected by a natural disaster

Natural disaster

A natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard . It leads to financial, environmental or human losses...

Gulf Coast relief efforts

BonaResponds sent its first small contingent of students and faculty in October 2005. A second group returned over the 2005 - 2006 Christmas break. After that trip, planning for a much larger trip over the upcoming spring break began in earnest.

In March 2006, BonaResponds sponsored a service trip to the Gulf Coast, consisting of almost 300 participants to five different sites along the Gulf Coast. Both in absolute terms (almost 300 volunteers) and as a percentage of school enrollment (about 2300 students), this was one of the largest collegiate service groups helping in the Gulf.

Coverage of this effort includes coverage on PBS

Public Broadcasting Service

The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....

's Newshour
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
PBS NewsHour is an evening television news program broadcast weeknights on the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States. The show is produced by MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, a company co-owned by former anchors Jim Lehrer and Robert MacNeil, and Liberty Media, which owns a 65% stake in the...

, on WBFO

WBFO

WBFO, broadcast on 88.7 FM, is the largest NPR member station for Buffalo, New York. It is broadcast from the South campus of the University at Buffalo....

(Buffalo NPR affiliate), all TV channels in the Buffalo

Buffalo, New York

Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

-Rochester area and in many newspapers both in the Northeast

Atlantic Northeast

The Atlantic Northeast, or Arcadia, is a region of North America, comprising New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine and the Canadian Maritimes. Definitions of the region vary; it may extend to upstate New York and/or all of Atlantic Canada....

and also around Bay St. Louis, Missouri.

Recognition of these efforts include the Francis Medal from the Holy Name Province and President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll.

In January 2007, a group of 26 St. Bonaventure students, faculty, and community members returned to Pass Christian, Missouri. The group worked with Randy's Rangers. Most of their efforts were concentrated on building a camp that will house future volunteers, but several person-hours were dedicated to directly helping some local residents in their reconstruction efforts.

In March 2007, BonaResponds sent approximately 60 volunteers to the Gulf Coast, specifically Pass Christian, MS and Bay St. Louis, MS. The plan for this trip quickly changed, as 48 of the volunteers were diverted to Enterprise, Alabama

Enterprise, Alabama

Enterprise is a city in the southeastern part of Coffee and Dale Counties in the southeastern part of Alabama in the Southern United States. The population was estimated to be 25,909 in the year 2009....

to assist after a recent tornado

Tornado

A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...

. After arriving in Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

, the 60 volunteers were spread across three different sites: Randy's Rangers and Bible Fellowship in Pass Christian, and the St. Rose Outreach and Recovery Center (SOAR) in Bay St. Louis. Most of Bonaresponds efforts during this trip involved rebuilding - projects this time included roofing, drywalling, and general contracting as well as some debris cleanup .

For photographs of this effort see Mississippi

Evolution

The experience of volunteering in the Gulf Coast had a profound effect on the participants. In an effort to nurture the desire to serve, BonaResponds made an active decision to aid in local community service

Community service

Community service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....

projects in between the large-scale disaster relief projects.

In late August 2006 through October 2006, BonaResponds hosted several local service days. Highlights from these days included:

Refurbishing a high school.
Painting at a local hospital.
Working at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is a non-profit animal welfare organization originally founded in England in 1824 to pass laws protecting carriage horses from abuse. SPCA groups are now found in many nations, where they campaign for animal welfare, assist in cruelty to animals...

.
Starting a bike trail.

These local service days have greatly impacted the community.

In addition to the service days, BonaResponds has been helping out a family in Franklinville

Franklinville (town), New York

Franklinville is a town in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. The population was 3,128 at the 2000 census.The Town of Franklinville is an interior town, located in the northeast quadrant of the county. Franklinville is also the name of a village in the town.- History :The town was first...

who suffered from a devastating fire. For photographs of this effort see Gulf Coast

BonaResponds in Buffalo

On October 13, 2006, a record breaking snow storm hit Buffalo and the surrounding areas. BonaResponds was there, leading the way in the storm clean-up. Over 100 participants traveled to Buffalo to clear down trees and well as remove other hazards caused by the storm. This effort was centered in Lancaster

Lancaster (town), New York

Lancaster is a town in Erie County, New York, USA. As of the 2000 census, the town population has 39,019 residents.The Town of Lancaster has a village also called Lancaster. The Town and Village are currently exploring consolidation of governmental functions. Both town and village are east of...

and West Seneca. In the first five weeks of this effort, the group had cleared 86 homes and much of Martin Luther King Park in E. Buffalo.

BonaResponds in Enterprise, Alabama

An EF3 tornado

Enhanced Fujita Scale

The Enhanced Fujita Scale rates the strength of tornadoes in the United States based on the damage they cause.Implemented in place of the Fujita scale introduced in 1971 by Ted Fujita, it began operational use on February 1, 2007. The scale has the same basic design as the original Fujita scale:...

devastated the Southeastern Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

town of Enterprise on Thursday, 1 March 2007, merely 27 hours before their scheduled departure from Olean, New York

Olean, New York

Olean is a city in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. Olean is the largest city in Cattaraugus County, and serves as the financial, business, transportation and entertainment center of the county. It is one of the principal cities of the Southern Tier region of New York.The city is...

. BonaResponds was the first volunteer group on the scene, arriving roughly 48 hours after the storm. The entire group of 48 volunteers stayed in Enterprise for 2 days, and a group of six stayed for an additional 2 days. After the stop in Alabama, BonaResponds traveled to its original destination of Mississippi

Mississippi

to continue rebuilding the region.

BonaResponds in Bucyrus, Ohio

In August 2007, north-central Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

was subject to severe flooding, prompting the declaration of 9 counties as federal disaster areas. Over a 4-day Fall break in October 2007, BonaResponds was one of the few groups to respond to this under-reported disaster.

BonaResponds in Tuscaloosa, Alabama

In May of 2011, tornadoes struck Alabama, including a category f-5 that tore through Tuscaloosa. Bonaresponds was on the scene once finals and graduation were over. Overall the group was on scene for 2 weeks and mostly spent their time clearing debris and provided emotional support for all those in the area. There were as many as 27 responders present at any given time.

Bonaresponds in Springfield, Mass

Shortly after BonaResponds was volunteering in Alabama a tornado hit in Springfield, Mass, the first trip was only a weekend in June 2011 where the focus was cleaning up trees and other debris. Shortly after the first trip a 5 day trip was brought additional relief to the area. This trip brought significant media attention to BonaResponds when several different media outlets came to sites that were affected and interviewed volunteers and those affected by the tornado.

Future projects

BonaResponds planned another trip to the Gulf Coast in January and February/March 2008, and will continue to lend aid in the local community and elsewhere wherever it is needed.

To maintain continuity, BonaResponds is continually recruiting new volunteers and leaders as many of the original members graduate from St. Bonaventure.

External links

Videos

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