Newlyweds Cruise to Waveland
to Help Wayland To Waveland
By Carla Imperial and Cindy Lombardo
April 10 – It was another week of miracles in Waveland, Mississippi, as volunteers of the Wayland To 
Waveland (W2W) initiative headed back to the Gulf Coast to rebuild homes, lives, and dreams in one of Katrina’s worst hit areas.
This was the fourth trip for W2W-led volunteers, this time to continue the progress on Ms. Melanie Keretas’ home. Melanie returned after the storm to find her home lying on its side in her neighbor’s yard. Like many in her town, she had lost everything. Like many in her town, Melanie never lost hope or her will to survive. In October of 2006, a W2W-led group of volunteers began the massive feat of rebuilding Melanie’s house from the ground up. In ten days, the group had built the frame of a new house, and with the help of the Amish, completed the roof.
For this trip, led by Tom Fay and Cindy Lombardo of W2W, and Peter Bachman, of Custom Designs, volunteers from past trips were called upon to commit their efforts once again and help round up additional volunteers. “The feeling of doing work like this is infectious,” said one volunteer, who returned for her second trip with W2W. “Just by telling our stories, we inspire others to hop on board.”
Enter newlyweds, Michael and Barbara Miller, from Kalamazoo, MI. They had been planning a week-long cruise for their honeymoon until Michael saw a piece on CNBC about Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf Coast. The couple, moved by the devastation that still exists a year and a half later, decided to give up their cruise to do volunteer work in Katrina-hit areas. Michael searched the internet to look for volunteer opportunities, and found the Wayland to Waveland site (www.waylandtowaveland.org), and the magical connection was made. At their wedding reception, they put out a ‘dollar a dance’ bucket, and collected more than $200 towards the W2W cause. The day after their wedding, Michael and Barbara hopped in their car and headed hundreds of miles south, landing on the front steps of Melanie’s house with hammers in hand.
In one short week, the group, including the humble newlyweds, had Melanie’s house fully sided, the decking around the house built, and the plumbing and electrical wiring throughout the whole house complete. Thousands of nails and hundreds of feet of hardy plank later, it’s the stories of survival and the spirit of folks like Melanie that keep the group coming back for more.