{"id":10837,"date":"2016-06-01T17:12:32","date_gmt":"2016-06-01T17:12:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/?p=10837"},"modified":"2018-05-08T14:33:07","modified_gmt":"2018-05-08T14:33:07","slug":"fiunyc-builds-walls-with-panther-paws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/2016\/06\/01\/fiunyc-builds-walls-with-panther-paws\/","title":{"rendered":"FIUNYC Builds Walls with Panther Paws"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>On Saturday, May 21, the <a href=\"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/networks\/#2\" target=\"_blank\">FIU Alumni Association of Greater New York<\/a> (FIUNYC), in partnership with the Friends of Rockaway\/St. Bernard Project, put their paws to the wall to help a Brooklyn family rebuild their still devastated home, following the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy nearly four years ago. Hurricane Sandy was the deadliest and most destructive hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season and the second-costliest hurricane in United States history\u2014second only to Hurricane Andrew, which hit South Florida in 1992.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive size-full wp-image-10842 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/fiualumni-eastus.azurewebsites.net\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/3.jpg\" alt=\"3\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" \/>This project was particularly significant as it meant restoring the house to make it feel like &#8220;home&#8221; again for eight\u00a0family members spanning three generations. The homeowner, Danielle Saint-Vil Noel, a single mother who works as a care taker for disabled adults, shared through the St. Bernard Project that on the night of the storm, her family stayed in their home as they watched their basement and first floor flood with 12 inches of water. Following the storm, the family stayed in their home without power until it was restored three days later. Their home also sustained significant roof damage as a result of the storm\u2019s hurricane force winds. They had insurance but this did not provide the financial resources necessary to repair their home\u2014so they continue to live in their storm-damaged home today. The house has mold throughout the basement and first floor and has electrical issues following substandard repairs by the city. Danielle shared that, \u201chaving the repairs complete would mean having a weight lifted off my chest. It would be a relief and a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Friends of Rockaway is committed to helping return the family to living in a safe and healthy home as soon as funding is secured to complete the repairs. In the meantime, FIUNYC was proud to have played even a small part of making life a little easier and getting them a few steps closer as they worked throughout the day on a variety of tasks from mudding and sanding to installing dry wall and more. According to Site Supervisor Edison Rodriguez, FIUNYC was one of the best groups he\u2019s had the pleasure of working with, as often times, he\u2019s found it hard to motivate volunteers. That wasn\u2019t an issue for FIUNYC, as they were proud to show him what #PantherSpirit is all about.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive size-full wp-image-10846 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/fiualumni-eastus.azurewebsites.net\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/pic-2.jpg\" alt=\"pic-2\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" \/>Each year, the Big Apple Panthers band together to make a difference, volunteering at various sites for community \u00a0service projects around the Greater New York region, from park clean ups to senior centers to food kitchens and more. This project however, really hit home as living in South Florida really gives you a firsthand experience of the impact the aftermath of a hurricane can have on communities and the emotional toll it takes on families for years after the storm has long passed. \u201cWhile we enjoy any opportunity to get together as a Panther Network, when we can do so and also make a significant difference in the lives of those in need, it makes it that much more meaningful,\u201d explains FIUNYC Community Service Committee Chair Tom Bello, Jr. \u201cWhether home in Miami, here in Greater New York or anywhere else in the world, we hope to see more alumni joining us and other Panther Networks to give back, support your local communities and make your paw print count.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive wp-image-10845 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/fiualumni-eastus.azurewebsites.net\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/pic-1-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"pic 1\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" \/><\/p>\n<p>By\u00a0Lori Rodney,\u00a0Communications Committee Chairperson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Saturday, May 21, the FIU Alumni Association of Greater New York (FIUNYC), in partnership with the Friends of Rockaway\/St. Bernard Project, put their paws to the wall to help a Brooklyn family rebuild their still devastated home, following the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy nearly four years ago. Hurricane Sandy was the deadliest and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":10841,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[367],"tags":[106,386],"class_list":["post-10837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-network-news","tag-fiunyc","tag-greater-new-york"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10837"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10837"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10837\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14935,"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10837\/revisions\/14935"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}