Volunteers hooked on proving post-Katrina aid
Bruce Nolan/2009 Religion News Service
Issue date: 3/29/09 Section: Divine Intervention
NEW ORLEANS -- The staccato banging of dozens of hammers dispelled the morning quiet as college students, lawyers and nurses from Massachusetts clambered about four new houses rapidly taking shape at the hands of Habitat for Humanity and St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church.
Meantime, across town, students from the University of Pennsylvania, Syracuse University and dozens of other colleges painted, laid tile and nailed weatherboards on older homes, pulling them back from ruin. And in nearby St. Bernard Parish, 600 professionals gathered by United Jewish Communities plan to transform a gutted Catholic school into a community center.
Nearly four years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans remains a prime destination for thousands of out-of-state volunteers willing to take a break from their own lives to help rebuild the city -- never more so than during spring break season.
Here, at least, Katrina fatigue has not yet settled in, say managers of major church and community groups that consume millions of volunteer hours as they build and repair thousands of homes.
"We're completely maxed out," said Paul Cook, senior project coordinator for Catholic Charities' Operation Helping Hands.
Similar reports come from other major rebuilding nonprofit groups: the St. Bernard Project, Habitat for Humanity, the United Methodist Church's Southeast Louisiana Disaster Recovery Center, the Presbyterian-affiliated Project RHINO and others.
"Camp Hope is getting tremendous numbers. I think they've got 800 people there a night," said Habitat spokeswoman Aleis Tusa, referring to the no-frills bunkhouse where Habitat and other nonprofit groups house volunteers.
But during off-peak months -- in late autumn and during the hottest weeks of summer, for example -- managers said the flow of helpers has tapered off somewhat.
As a result, some like Dale Kimball, manager of the huge Methodist-affiliated rebuilding operation, regularly make distant recruiting swings. Kimball said his PowerPoint demonstration, documenting post-Katrina New Orleans and the continuing need for volunteers, continues to yield a fresh harvest of newcomers.
Meantime, across town, students from the University of Pennsylvania, Syracuse University and dozens of other colleges painted, laid tile and nailed weatherboards on older homes, pulling them back from ruin. And in nearby St. Bernard Parish, 600 professionals gathered by United Jewish Communities plan to transform a gutted Catholic school into a community center.
Nearly four years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans remains a prime destination for thousands of out-of-state volunteers willing to take a break from their own lives to help rebuild the city -- never more so than during spring break season.
Here, at least, Katrina fatigue has not yet settled in, say managers of major church and community groups that consume millions of volunteer hours as they build and repair thousands of homes.
"We're completely maxed out," said Paul Cook, senior project coordinator for Catholic Charities' Operation Helping Hands.
Similar reports come from other major rebuilding nonprofit groups: the St. Bernard Project, Habitat for Humanity, the United Methodist Church's Southeast Louisiana Disaster Recovery Center, the Presbyterian-affiliated Project RHINO and others.
"Camp Hope is getting tremendous numbers. I think they've got 800 people there a night," said Habitat spokeswoman Aleis Tusa, referring to the no-frills bunkhouse where Habitat and other nonprofit groups house volunteers.
But during off-peak months -- in late autumn and during the hottest weeks of summer, for example -- managers said the flow of helpers has tapered off somewhat.
As a result, some like Dale Kimball, manager of the huge Methodist-affiliated rebuilding operation, regularly make distant recruiting swings. Kimball said his PowerPoint demonstration, documenting post-Katrina New Orleans and the continuing need for volunteers, continues to yield a fresh harvest of newcomers.
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