Eight months after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, Kelly Phillips, a junior at Papillion-La Vista South High School, visited her grandparents in Biloxi, Miss.

The devastation brought tears to the young woman's eyes.

Almost two years later Phillips, along with seven other volunteers, will travel to the ravaged area to help with clean up and reconstruction.

"It was devastating," Phillips said of the hurricane. "There were all these pictures of what went wrong but when you're there it's unreal. They will be rebuilding for years."

On her last trip to Biloxi she saw the destroyed home of former United States President Andrew Jackson and a huge barge displaced in the middle of the highway.

"That's a piece of history well never get back," she said of Jackson's home. "It will never be the same."

Phillips, who is doing the project for her Girl Scouts Gold Award, and her group teamed up with Habitat for Humanity and Hope Forth. The group left Monday morning for their two-day drive to Biloxi. Once they arrive they will spend three days painting, landscaping, cleaning and other small jobs which don't require much construction skills.

The group will return next Monday.

Phillips wrote to Habit for Humanity for a grant to help her with the financial costs of the trip including room and board, the van rental and gas. She received $1,300 from the organization and another $1,100 from donations and fund-raising.

Phillips will travel with her mother and brother, two co-workers, a classmate, a former neighbor and a contractor from Habitat for Humanity.

"It's one of the most beautiful places in the world," she said, "and I wanted to get a big chuck done people could move in as soon as possible."