We are a group which helps rebuild houses and restore hope in the seventh and ninth wards of New Orleans, Louisiana. Each summer we spend two weeks working with deserving elderly people and families in these neighborhoods, we also send a group down during various spring breaks. We not only rebuild houses, but help to restore hope within the people of these communities. We provide a sense that people care and that change can happen. Our group has devoted much time and energy into improving the lives of these deserving, wonderful people, and we will hopefully end the preventable injustices occuring in one of the most corrupt American cities.
people impacted:
3,000people involved:
60Our group send middle school, high school, college, and above aged people to New Orleans each summer and on various school breaks. As a group we build bonds with not only each other but with these caring deserving women. We call it a mission trip, but not because we go there to do mission work, rather because we are "on a quest" for something, to help someone. These women have nothing to repay us with, but in reality give us something more valuable than anything, their love. Sharing love with these families and women is the most wonderful part of this group. Through these people, we have all learned that by giving love, you improve the world a little bit at a time. Through caring for those who no one is prepared to care for, you improve the world a little bit at a time. Each time we go back down to NOLA, we help three or four women and families, what difference does it make? It matters to those three or four families, we are the difference, we CAN change things.
Throughout the rest of the year, our group fund raises for our trips to help people pay for airfare and accommodations, and also to buy things such as furniture for new families homes in New Orleans. This year we are flying one of the elderly women up to Seattle to be a guest speaker, and be a first hand account in spreading the word of the corruption of New Orleans.
As a group, we are pre-trained in carpentry skills before we leave. After we have sufficiently completed our training, we all meet and talk about what it will be like, talking to those who have gone, watching videos and seeing pictures of work sites. Throughout the year we hold fund raisers, and continue to hold them until the day before we leave. We travel down as a group, all in our matching t-shirts, and get to work.
We have made a huge impact, not to be cliche, but we change lives, literally. As a group, we provide hope to the hopeless, and resources to those who's lives are devastated. There are so many people who cannot receive help, and those are the people we choose to spend our time with.
This summer was completely successful. One house we've been working on for four years is finally complete, and the woman moved into her house.
We worked hard on each of our sites this year, and accomplished a lot as well as created very strong bonds with people in New Orleans.
This year we had to fight to be allowed to take our trip the summer of 2010, but we were just informed that we will be allowed to :)
We are currently starting fundraising for next year's project.
We started a city wide recycling project in order...
Comments
I read this and was totally inspired. I live in Kirkland and was wondering if there is any way i can get involved with what you are doing here.
Of course! you can e-mail me if you would like, lori@accuchef.com :) We would LOVE to have more people come with us, we're just now starting planning for this year's trip!