April 18, 2018
First-time Red Cross volunteer Traci Gwozdz ’86 helps displaced islanders
By Debbie Hazian
As the summer of 2017 was ending, fierce storms were forming in the Atlantic Ocean as one of the most active hurricane seasons on record began to intensify.
After Hurricane Harvey slammed Texas and Louisiana in late August, Traci Gwozdz ’86 of Greenwich, Conn., felt compelled to help. A director at Beautycounter, she participated with the online skin care company’s fundraising for the American Red Cross relief effort. Gwozdz learned that, while 90 percent of donated funds are directed to disaster relief, the Red Cross desperately needed volunteers on the ground.
So, the mother of five children and wife of David A. Gwozdz ’86 decided to volunteer. After Hurricane Irma hit the U.S. Virgin Islands. Gwozdz’s online training was fast-tracked as she prepared for deployment following the Category 5 storm. She was asked to help stage a relief effort on St. Croix — a three-week hardship deployment. Her husband assured her he would handle responsibilities at home.
While her children, ages 17 to 27, were surprised and concerned, “they thought it was awesome,” said Gwozdz. “Dave had my back 100 percent. I spoke with each of my children to explain why it was important for me to go, how each of us can make a difference, and to make sure they were OK with it.”
St. Croix was the staging ground for relief efforts since it had been spared the devastation of its neighboring islands. Based on Gwozdz’s experience in human resources, the Red Cross assigned her to the Canegata Multi-Purpose Recreation Center in Christiansted. The primary goal was to shelter evacuees from St. John and St. Thomas and to reunite them with family or friends in the United States when possible.
“The people were desolate, distraught,” said Gwozdz. “Most had lost their homes. They were so grateful for our help.”
Shortly after her arrival, another storm, called Maria, began brewing in the Atlantic.
“We learned that Maria was escalating, and we were in its direct path,” said Gwozdz. “When we heard reports that the storm was getting closer, we knew it was going to be bad. We realized we needed to shelter the people of St. Croix.”
As the Category 5 hurricane approached, volunteers evacuated shelter clients who were flying to the U.S. to make room for new residents. The shelter had never experienced a storm of this strength. Maria struck on Sept. 19, 2017.
“It was a terrifying night for all of us as the 150-mile-per-hour winds hit,” said Gwozdz. “The building was shaking. Two huge air-conditioning units were ripped out. Windows blew out, and it was raining in the building. Power was cut at 2 p.m. that afternoon to prevent a power surge. While the walls were cement, the roof was made of wood, and we were worried about the roof collapsing.
“We prayed a lot with each other and with the people in the shelter,” said Gwozdz. “As a mom, I connected quickly with the mothers and children. Treating our clients with the utmost respect was critical to helping them move forward. In many ways, we had become like family in a very short period of time.”
When the storm ended, a curfew was in place and there was no cell phone service. Volunteers rationed supplies for the 60 clients. They carefully documented islanders, trying to keep families together and move them off St. Croix.
Just days before her deployment ended, Gwozdz and other volunteers were offered a mercy flight home.
Would she ever do this again? “Absolutely,” she said. “I can’t wait to do it again. It was so rewarding in so many ways.”
Gwozdz’s bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychology were very helpful and motivated her to understand what people were experiencing and how they were coping, she said. She plans to train as a case manager for a future deployment.
“This experience absolutely changed me,” she said. “It made me so much more aware of what we have and how important it is to do things for other people.”
Caring and volunteering always have been part of Gwozdz’s life. Raised in Fairfield, Conn., she loved to babysit and volunteer as a candy striper. After college, she taught dance at inner-city schools in San Francisco. In Connecticut, she volunteered for Kids in Crisis, Girl Scouts, the PTA, and the Greenwich Point Conservancy.
PC played a pivotal role in helping Gwozdz cope with hardship in her own life. She decided to attend the College after taking a tour and “getting a good feeling that this was where I was meant to go.”
The summer after her second year, tragedy struck. Her mother was killed in a car accident. At her father’s urging, she returned to PC that fall.
“I didn’t think I was going to stay after Thanksgiving, but the priests and my PC family got me through,” said Gwozdz. She credited the late Rev. Adrian G. Dabash, O.P. ’62 & ’63G, who was a professor of art and served as College chaplain, and other Dominicans who reached out to her. “They had a bereavement group with a few other students who had lost parents. We would go to the priory, have tea, and chat.”
Just as Gwozdz was lifted by the compassion of the College’s Dominicans, volunteering during these devastating storms enabled her to give hope to others.
“It was an opportunity and a privilege for me to be with and serve people in the hours of their greatest needs. I also have a responsibility to use this experience of honoring and bearing witness to the loss and suffering of others to positively influence my own life,” she said.
Gwozdz passed her volunteer spirit onto her children, who were involved in Girl and Boy Scouts, school-based philanthropy, food banks, and clothing drives. They recently helped a local homeless family with food, clothing, and housing.
“Volunteering completes who I am as a person. I love how I feel when I’m helping others,” said Gwozdz. “Volunteering also helps me to learn more about myself, provides a sense of purpose, makes me happy, and evokes a deep sense of gratitude. Being at peace with yourself starts with helping others.”
