Utahns lend a hand in Florida

AMERICAN FORK -- Tsunami relief is the fuel that has kindled the fire of humanitarians since the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Southeast Asia on Dec. 26.

With all of the media coverage of the tsunami and its worldwide relief efforts, it would be easy to forget that last year, four major hurricanes hit Florida, caused more than $42 billion in damage and killed 117 people.

Students at American Fork's Ensign Schools -- and in particular, teacher Anna Knowles -- did not forget.

While the numbers of lives lost and the total property damage pales in comparison to what was caused by the quake off the coast of Indonesia, the hurricane season was devastating to thousands of Floridians whose homes were heavily damaged or destroyed and to the families of the 117 who died in the storms.

This aspect of recent human suffering was not lost on Knowles and 10 of her seventh- and eighth-grade students who in January made a 10-day humanitarian trip to the Florida hurricane region.

Originally, the plan was for a trip to Washington, D.C., or New York since the students had been studying U.S. history. After some thought, though, Knowles decided a service-oriented trip to Florida would be better.

Knowles began planning for the trip in October 2004 after receiving approval from the private school's governing board. They raised money by selling doughnuts, holding a "Walk For Humanity" event at the University Mall and soliciting contributions from businesses.

The cost of the trip was reduced after committee members found discounts on airfare and decided to stay in homes of fellow LDS Church members.

Initially, committee members estimated the trip for the class would cost $15,000 -- but were glad to see the price reduced to $10,000 after cutting a few corners.

A problem was finding opportunities for the students to render service on their trip.

Knowles contacted the Interfaith-Interagency Network for Charlotte County in Florida, a group of churches and agencies that helped to coordinate disaster relief. That group was able to find cleanup projects for the Ensign students.

With the funds raised, Knowles, two other adult chaperones -- Knowles' husband, John, and one of the students' mother, Karen Cox - - and 10 students departed for Florida on Jan. 17.

For the first week of their stay in Florida, the students and their chaperones helped restore landscaping to a Baptist Church in Port Charlotte and helped repair the property of an LDS family in Porta Gunta, one of the hardest-hit cities.

For the last three days of its trip, the group traveled to Cape Canaveral and Orlando where they visited NASA and Walt Disney World Resort.

Kenna Christensen, one of the students who made the trip, summed up her feelings by saying that the best part of the trip was giving service -- a sentiment with which Knowles agrees.

"Not only were my students affected by the people in Florida, they learned to think of others more than themselves," she said.

E-mail: kmartinez@desnews.com

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