Small steps make a big difference.

But when the recently annual trip to Mississippi was on the verge of being cancelled, Habitat stepped in and supplied housing for the group giving their time to help support Mississippi.

"Our first time commitment was to help local parishes and wanted people to know they were not forgotten," said Dr. Shirley Pavone of the Psychology Department.

"We did what we could including helping with debris removal and construction," said Pavone.

According to Pavone this years' trip to Mississippi will be different than previous years, because this is the first time they are working through a Habitat program in Biloxi Mississippi.

St. Rose of Lima was originally supposed to accommodate students and faculty this June but the situation changed since the plans were made.

Originally, in December they wanted five skilled workers to every four unskilled workers.

The parish found out that they needed more skilled workers than that which caused the trip to be cancelled.

Miguel Colon, Megan Wood, Margaret Casey and Phyllis Machlett in the Service-Learning Center worked hard to find the group housing in Mississippi so the trip wouldn't be cancelled.

"To someone who was thinking about going I would say stop thinking and go. There's no way that you could regret going. Not only does it look great that you volunteered on your resume. It is a life changing experience that you will keep for you for the rest of you life," said Steven Wrinkle, senior, Medford N.Y.

The people involved wanted to help but did not have the resources, so they made rag dolls, which were sent down and given out to people in the area.

The rag doll affected one lady in particular, who lost her daughter to Sickle Cell Anemia previous to the flood.

Her daughters' favorite doll was made of rag and lost in the flood so getting the new doll gave her hope.

"Needless to say this might have been one of the best decisions of my college career. Those two weeks I spent in Mississippi have changed me forever. I appreciate my family, my life and my possessions so much more," said Wrinkle.

"People down there have lost everything. The only things they had after the storm was the clothes they wore and their family. It shows the importance of the people that you have around you," said Wrinkle.

"Once you're there it will never leave you. We want to see some closure to the suffering our friends in Mississippi are enduring," said Professor Gregory Golda, Media Studies Department.

"We hope our efforts make a difference and we want people to know that although the media spotlight has moved on the people are still struggling in the aftermath," said Golda.

"I didn't start anything. I simply gave the tremendous effort I saw the students putting forth a name," said Golda.

"There were so many stories to tell of the people we met that we were trying to chapter out the story. The many hands of the students and other volunteers from all over the country pushing back this horrible wave became obvious," said Golda.

To donate to the cause you can go to www.pushingbackthewave.com.