North Vermilion High students help flood recovery

MAURICE — If you think the youth don’t care about what goes on in the communities around them, that they are simply taking this time off from school to relax, there are more than 100 North Vermilion High students who will tell you that you are flat out wrong.
Students from the school have spent the past couple of days helping wherever they are needed in Maurice and around Vermilion Parish. Many of the students worked Wednesday morning cleaning water damage in the rectory at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church. Students packed up items, removed damaged furniture and damaged sheet rock.
“We have tried to be out in the community a lot more during the past couple of years,” said Breelyn Brigola, president-elect of the NVHS student body. “This is important for us to get out here and do things like this because it builds a bridge between the school and the community.”
The effort to help following historic flooding in the area began small.
“We had a couple of parents ask if we had a few kids who could help,” North Vermilion Principal Tommy Byler said. “It kind of snowballed from there. “Five kids became 10 kids. On Tuesday we had about 40 kids helping at Cecil Picard (Elementary) and the nursing home in Nunez as well as about five houses.
“We put a call out Tuesday night and we had about 100 kids and parents show up (Wednesday) morning.”
With such a large group, many of the students organized groups to help in Abbeville, Lafayette and other places.
“A lot of the kids took it over and ran with it,” Byler said. “I am super pleased,”
As Brigola mentioned, service in the community has been an important tool for learning at the school. Byler said this week brings that to a different level.
“This is living community service,” Byler said. “This is not just talking about it. This is an opportunity for them to really fulfill something.”
Byler said he is aware that several student are still affected by flooding, unable to help in the manner of their fellow students. Once all the students return to campus next week, it will certainly be a stronger group.
“I couldn’t be more proud of these kids because of what they have done and what they continue to do,” Byler said.