REBUILD NEW ORLEANS
 During the REALTORS® Conference & Expo week in New Orleans, attendees were invited to participate in a variety of rebuilding and renovation efforts in the residential areas that were devastated by Katrina.
Summary of Activities (see project details below)
Tuesday, Nov. 7
8:30am-3:30pm Habitat for Humanity
Wednesday, Nov. 8
8:30am-3:30pm Habitat for Humanity (full)
8:30am-3:30pm Rebuilding Together
8:30am-3:30pm City Park
8:30am-12:30pm School Renovation: De La Salle School
12:30pm-4:30pm School Renovation: De La Salle School
8:30am-12:30pm Second Harvest Food Bank
12:30pm-4:30pm Second Harvest Food Bank
9:30am-2:30pm New Orleans Public Library
Thursday, Nov. 9
8:30am-3:30pm School Painting & Refurbishing: St. Joan of Arc
All other activities on this day are currently filled.
Friday, Nov. 10
8:30am-3:30pm Habitat for Humanity (full)
8:30am-3:30pm Rebuilding Together
8:30am-3:30pm City Park
8:30am-12:30pm School Renovation: De La Salle School
12:30pm-4:30pm School Renovation: De La Salle School
8:30am-12:30pm Second Harvest Food Bank
12:30pm-4:30pm Second Harvest Food Bank
9:30am-2:30pm New Orleans Public Library
Saturday, Nov. 11
8:30am-3:00pm Habitat for Humanity (full)
8:30am-3:00pm Rebuilding Together
8:30am-3:00pm City Park
Monday, Nov. 13
8:30am-3:30pm Habitat for Humanity (full)
8:30am-3:30pm City Park
Tuesday, Nov. 14
8:30am-3:30pm Habitat for Humanity AVAILABLE
REBUILD NEW ORLEANS VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES
1. HABITAT FOR HUMANITY MUSICIANS VILLAGE
VOLUNTEER DAY SPONSOR:
Tuesday, Nov. 7 – Tuesday, Nov. 14
8:30am – 3:30pm
NOTE: Saturday's build will end at 3pm so you will have more time to change and get ready for the General Session.
150 Volunteers Daily
The Musicians' Village, conceived by Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis, will consist of 81 Habitat-constructed homes for displaced New Orleans musicians. Its centerpiece will be the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, dedicated to the education and development of homeowners and others who will live nearby. The Musicians Village site is on eight acres of land in the Upper 9th Ward. The first 40 homes are due for completion in August. Phase II construction of 41 additional homes began in September. Seven homes, sponsored by REALTORS® as part of the Operation Home Delivery effort to build 54 homes in the Gulf Region, were part of the Phase II construction. REALTORS® helped build these and other homes in the Musicians Village with Habitat for Humanity New Orleans.
Activities included a variety of construction projects from pouring concrete foundations to building walls to painting and finishing.
Lowes, a REALTOR Benefitssm Program Partner and proud sponsor of this Volunteer Day Activity, will provide beverages, lunch and other surprises to make your day a memorable one!
VISIT: http://www.habitat-nola.org for more information on the Greater New Orleans Habitat for Humanity and the Musicians Village.
2. REBUILDING TOGETHER WITH COUNTRYWIDE sponsored by
Wednesday, Nov. 8 – Saturday, Nov. 11
8:30am – 3:30pm
NOTE: Saturday's build will end at 3pm so you will have more time to change and get ready for the General Session.
100 Volunteer Daily
The St. Roch community was home to nearly 12,000 residents before flooding caused by Katrina forced many from their homes. But St. Roch wasn’t just a community; it was a tribute to the history of New Orleans. From St. Roch’s proud claim of having housed the country’s largest population of free blacks before the Civil War, to their famous Seafood Market, to the St. Roch Chapel which was erected for the Saint Roch patron of Good Health, this area was rich with New Orleans landmarks and culture. It is this neighborhood that Rebuilding Together, sponsored by Countrywide, has committed to help restore in partnership with REALTORS® attending the Conference. REALTORS® will help revitalize this historic community by repairing homes of low-income, elderly and disabled residents. With lead funding provided through Rebuilding with Countrywide, Rebuilding Together has pledged to rebuild 1,000 homes in the Gulf, and to date they have repaired and rebuilt 107 houses and nonprofit facilities; engaging 2,427 volunteers; contributing over 14,750 hours of volunteer labor - a market value of more than $2.3 million. Countrywide is proud to be the title sponsor of Rebuilding Together's disaster relief program and will provide beverages, lunches, building supplies and more for this project.
You can also share this experience by inviting your family, friends and business partners to join you as sponsors of the Rebuild 1000! For more information visit www.RebuildingWithCountrywide.com today!
3. CITY PARK sponsored by:
Wednesday, Nov. 8 – Monday, Nov. 13 (except Sunday)
8:30am – 3:30pm
NOTE: Saturday's build will end at 3pm so you will have more time to change and get ready for the General Session.
150 Volunteers Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday
90 Volunteers Friday and Monday
City Park is to New Orleans what Central Park is to New York. This 150 year old, one mile by three mile, 1,300-acre park is situated in the heart of the city between Lake Pontchartrain and downtown New Orleans and hosts 11 million visitors each year.
This is the park where families bring their children to feed the ducks, hold large family reunions, take pictures among the 600 year old oaks, give their daughters away in marriage, fish, play golf, or just enjoy the beauty of nature. City Park has a special place in the hearts of generations of New Orleanians.
Ninety percent of the park had one to eight feet of water and damage is extensive. The initial estimate is that it will cost $43 million to rebuild the entire park. Staffing has been reduced dramatically and they need help!
Activities included the following:
1. Couturie Forest & Shorelines: Planting trees and shoreline grasses, eradication of invasive tree species.
2. Botantical Garden: Ongoing garden duties including pruning, mulching and planting.
3. Celebration in the Oaks Holiday Display in the Botanical Garden. City Park has a large Holiday display that requires a significant amount of manpower to setup. Bring joy to the children of New Orleans by stringing lights and setting up decorations for this Holiday Celebration!
4. Tree Work: directional pruning of young trees, nursery setup and sapling planting
Also consider donating an Oak Tree!
Hurricane Katrina killed over 1,000 trees in City Park. You can help replenish the urban forest by purchasing a Live Oak. Each tree costs $750. Your tax deductible donation includes recognition on a donor wall in the Casino Building.
VISIT: http://www.neworleanscitypark.com for more information on New Orleans City Park.
4. SCHOOL RENOVATION: De La Salle School
Wednesday, Nov. 8 to Friday, Nov. 10
8:30am – 12:30pm AND/OR
12:30pm – 4:30pm
50 volunteers per shift
Our Brothers, students, families, faculty, staff and Lasallian ministry in the New Orleans area face overwhelming devastation. Volunteers assisted in painting the cafeteria, theatre and numerous classrooms in order for its 535 students to have a quality learning environment that they deserve. They also helped restore normalcy to these children’s lives.
5. SECOND HARVESTERS FOOD BANK
Wednesday, Nov. 8 to Friday, Nov. 10
8:30am – 12:30noon AND/OR
12:30pm – 4:30pm
25 volunteers per shift
Second Harvesters Food Bank addresses the problem of hunger in the community caused by the extreme poverty level. SHFB distributes millions of pounds of food to the southern part of Louisiana, providing thousands of quality meals to men, women and children in need daily. Every dollar donated to the food bank feeds a family of four. For every hour a volunteer works, $102 worth of food is packed for redistribution to the hungry. Second Harvesters Food Bank provides food to more than 163,000 people through over 300 non-profit social service organizations in 25 parishes.
Volunteers helped sort donated product into food groups which were then loaded up in trucks for distribution.
6. NEW ORLEANS PUBLIC LIBRARY
Wednesday, Nov. 8 to Friday, Nov. 10
9:30am – 2:30pm
50 Volunteers Daily
The New Orleans Public Library (NOPL) was hit hard by Katrina. Every library was damaged; eight of twelve branches were completely ruined by wind, water, and mold. Revenue loss forced layoffs of 80% of the staff. Total damage may be as much as $30 million.
Like many cities, New Orleans is “self-insured,” but the Katrina calamity left the City with insufficient revenue to fund rebuilding. In time, we will receive funds up to 90% of the cost to repair our libraries and purchase new books and equipment; however, this process could take years, drastically limiting New Orleans families’ access to books, discs, computers, and the Internet -- holding back children’s education, confounding adults’ efforts to rebuild their lives, and preventing everyone from gaining the solace that books provide.
Faced with the layoffs of 80% of the staff, NAR volunteers were integral to the recovery efforts of the NOPL. Volunteers assisted the FNOPL by sorting the hundreds of donated books into categories, such as fiction, non-fiction, reference, romance, poetry, etc. Once the books were sorted, the Army Corps of Engineers distributed the sorted boxes to schools and literacy programs throughout the area. Some of these books were also part of the libraries weekly book sale. Proceeds to further help rebuild and expand the library.
7. SCHOOL PAINTING AND REFURBISHING: St. Joan of Arc Catholic School
Thursday, Nov. 9 - 8:30am - 3:30pm
100 Volunteers to paint classrooms and refurbish the illustrated US map on blacktop in the courtyard.
St. Joan of Arc is a 100% African American, low-income school. 80% of the students are still living in trailers. Volunteers painted classrooms as well as an illustrated map of the U.S. painted on the blacktop of the courtyard which was damaged. The map was a wonderful tool for the children to learn geography and social studies.
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