Men's Basketball

Bennington, VT-The baseball team will be traveling to Florida. Other students will either go home or find a nice sunny spot on the beach somewhere in the south. Two student-athletes, however, will forgo the swimsuits and the parties in order to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Many have forgotten about the damage from the fifth deadliest storm in the history of the United States. Senior rugby and men's basketball player Andy Macnaughton (Stratham, NH/Exeter) and sophomore hoopster Chris Holland (Adams, MA/Hoosac Valley) not only haven't forgotten but will lead a team of eight students and two staff members from Southern Vermont College to New Orleans, Louisiana.

The goal is to assist in the rebuilding of New Orleans by helping to build houses with Habitat for Humanity. The students call it Alternative Spring Break and the idea is to help those who have essentially lost it all due to Katrina.

"Last year we went to the Florida panhandle to help with the ecosystem by planting trees and this year we felt like we could do more and have a direct impact on humanity," said Holland who would like to be the student director of Alternative Spring Break next year. "It's a great chance to see the country, help others and build friendships."

Southern Vermont College kicked in some of the money to pay for flights and hotel rooms while in the Big Easy, but after additional fundraising each individual student still needed to fork up $287 in order to volunteer for the project.

"It's pretty crazy to think about losing everything you own and not having a home for years," said Macnaughton, who is admittedly nervous about the pressure of constructing a house. "I can barely build a grilled cheese. We've been told they will have qualified people guiding us."

According to the census conducted in 2000 and the United States Postal Service, 70% of the population base has returned to the Crescent City, but estimates have been as high as 30,000 families that still have no home to live in. Those are startling numbers that can not be fixed in the blink of an eye, but can be helped through volunteers.

The squad will work five full days building houses, which is a concept that is not all that foreign to Holland.

"My dad built houses for a living and I helped him," he said. "There will be plenty of people telling us what to do that have experience, so I think the houses will be sturdy."

"It's a great thing going as a group," said Macnaughton. "We are going to have an impact on people's lives. What can be better than that?"

Southern Vermont College men's basketball head coach Michael McDonough is proud of his players.

"When you have student-athletes make commitments like Andy and Chris you realize how special those two individuals are," McDonough said. "What stands out is there is still a need in New Orleans and these two will do all they can to accelerate the process of rebuilding of the great city."

SVC Director of Athletics Benjamin Kozik, who attended the same high school as Holland, agrees with McDonough.

"Our coaches recruit good people first and foremost," said Kozik. "Chris and Andy's selflessness display the spirit of what we want in our athletics program."

The next time you have a week and the choice is between sitting on the couch or helping those less fortunate, it might be time to follow the example set by several SVC students.