August 24th to 28th Rebuilding Together New Orleans commemorated the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina with Fifty for Five. Over five days more than a thousand

people volunteered throughout the neighborhood of Gentilly to rebuild homes and revitalize a community.

Thank you to everyone who supported our efforts for all that you have done!

Playground build at Miltenberger Park

Day One and Two

Each day started early with our staff gathering at the warehouse before dawn and the volunteers hopping onto busses at 7:30 sharp. There was a lot of set-up to do each morning to make sure each site was ready for a full day of building.

Every volunteer group started off with a safety lesson on how to use the equipment they were going to work with each day. Even something as simple as a ladder has safety precautions to go over before climbing up to height of twenty feet or more.

Day one and two were a huge success with projects like construction on the Miltenberger Park playground completed early by our intrepid volunteers!

Volunteers&

Homeowners

Day ThreeDay three was busy as ever. There was painting, fence building, dry walling, and so many other activities going on at all the different homes.

We had a lot of visitors on site. From homeowners to CEOs and even Shaun Donovan, US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development!

Mr. Donovan spoke to a packed crowd over the lunch hour in front of Ms. Ruthie Lee Jones home. He spoke of HUD’s commitment to New Orleans and congratulated Rebuilding Together on the work that was being done for the event and for all the 22 years of service in New Orleans.

Among the speakers at the event were Gary Officer, the President and CEO of Rebuilding Together, Daniela Rivero, the Director of Rebuilding Together New Orleans, and homeowner Ms. Ruthie Lee Jones whose home was the back drop for the speeches.

Other homeowners like Sara Williams also came by their homes to see all the action. Ms. Williams had to take three buses and a long walk just so she could visit with the volunteers who were working on her home and thank each and every one of them personally for their help in rebuilding her home.

Day FourDay four brought even more volunteers and projects to Fifty for Five.

Over the length of the event we were joined by over two hundred AmeriCorps members and alumni, one of the largest gatherings of AmeriCorps for a single event. They represented the multiple branches and work done by AmeriCorps across the country with teams of NCCC’s, Directs, Capacity Corps, and VISTAs.

Also joining the RT team for the day were several former NFL players, including a few former Saints, who worked on several different projects on two homes in Pontchartrain Park. They were all smiles as they worked with the other volunteers to complete their builds.

Part of the NFL Players Care Foundation, several former NFL Players and Hall of Famers helped give back to the New Orleans community.

The players included:Chuck Commiskey, Ron George, Bill Gramatica, Martin Gramatica, Bobby Hebert, Tyrone Hughes, Rickey Jackson – Recently inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Tyrone Legette, Kerry Parker, Mike McKenzie, Bernard Robertson, and Clarence Verdin.

Even a heavy rain that stuck around all day would not deter our volunteers from getting the work done on our last day, whether that meant moving inside or working out in the rain in a parka.

Day Five

Fifty for Five ended with a ribbon cutting, some great speeches, and as any New Orleans celebration must end with music and dancing!

The ribbon cutting in Hope Park was attended by nearly all of our thousand volunteers who gathered to hear the speeches given by members of Rebuilding Together, our many sponsors for the event, board members, New Orleans City Council Members (including our own former Director Kristen Palmer), and to hear from one of our homeowners, Ms. Barbara Hansell and her family.

Not even the down pour of rain could stop everyone from enjoying the festivities.