Before I add my final thoughts, here a little of what we've been doing lately.  The week of Thanksgiving we spent in Chauvin, LA rebuilding roofs damaged by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.  I really enjoyed this project; any work done by hand outside is right up my alley.  We were part of a group of about 75 volunteers.  Over 5 days we completed 15 roofs.  Since Thanksgiving we've been painting a house and just finished up on Tuesday.  The weather posed some difficulties.  We had to cancel a few days of work because of rain and a rare New Orleans snow.  I accidently dyed my hair green by brushing up against the freshly painted eaves but it has mostly washed out, so no harm done.  My other project has been working with a fourth grade science class.  It was a lot of fun but chaotic.  

I can't say I'm sorry to be leaving New Orleans.  I'm happily anticipating home, family, and friends this Christmas.  On the other hand, I'm sure parts of Louisiana will stay with me.  I won't take my own home for granted anymore for one.  I've also learned a lot.  I'd like to thank Hands On and my fellow VLs and also the many other people we did projects with:  Colleen from the Audubon Institute, Lee from the Main Street Project, Ms. Clark for letting me work with her students, everyone from Bayou Grace and Hope Force who we worked with in Chauvin, and many others.  Thank you for letting me work and learn with you.  I'll never forget it.

I Like New Orleans Better

It is so strange that my time as a Volunteer Leader is just about finished. Looking back, I feel like I heave done and learned so much these past three months. Depending on my mindset at the moment, I go between feeling like I've been in New Orleans for forever, and feeling like I only just arrived. I have met some pretty amazing people, learned a lot of new and crazy things, listened to tons of live music, driven the wrong way down too many one way streets - this list could go on forever - and have become connected to New Orleans and the people here. This connection is why I am planning on staying and working in the city.

I'd like to give special thanks to my fellow Volunteer Leaders for working hard and making a difference here in New Orleans. Also, a big thank you to the entire Hands On staff, especially Nina, our Volunteer Leader Coordinator. You are all awesome. Thank you for "being the change."

In parting, I'd like to quote Bob Dylan, who said, "there are a lot of places I like, but I like New Orleans better." Bob, I couldn't agree more.

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions (as long as they don't involve driving directions) or comments at rbcohn@gmail.com

Wetland Planting

Last Wednesday, the four of us worked with Colleen, from Bayou Rebirth, and 25 volunteers from Clif Bar to replant a marsh on Bayou Lacombe.  In the morning Colleen gave a presentation on the importance of wetland restoration.  

The Mississippi River used to deposit sediments on the wetlands of southern Louisiana. Levees built to prevent flooding also prevent the deposit of soil, so now that soil is washed out into the Gulf of Mexico.  Additionally, the wetlands themselves are eroding.  Without sediments to replace what erodes, the wetlands of Southern Louisiana are shrinking.  Approximately a football field of wetlands is lost every half hour.

This is obviously a grave problem.  Planting in the wetlands is an easy way to combat erosion.  On Wednesday afternoon we went to a marsh on the lower end of Bayou Lacombe, near Lake Pontchartrain.  We planted marsh hay (Spartina patens) and smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora).  Both kinds of grass tolerate flooding and salt.  

The planting was successful and a lot of fun.  All the grass was planted, and no tools, boots, or volunteers got lost in the mud.  Hopefully the grasses will take root, spread, and hold on to the soil.

Symantec project

On October 13th, my group of 20 Symantec people turned this:

From New Album 10/13/08 12:06 AM

Into this!

From New Album 10/13/08 12:06 AM

It was not only my first corporate project, first construction experience, and first school beautification project. . . it was pretty much my first time being in charge of anything. I was nevous! Lucky, my group was awesome. They were helpful and eager to get things done - I had trouble convincing them to take a break for lunch!

All in all, we had about 200 people. Ap was inside with the group that painted 17 classrooms, Rosalie's ground mural team covered the blacktop with games and maps, along with building a basketball and vollyball court, Willa's team planted gardens, and other teams built more benches and puppet theaters and movable walls for inside classrooms. It was kind of amazing what we got done in a day.

Here's an album with more pictures I took, if you want to see some of this looked like.

Symantec

Reflections and project updates

It has been a while since my last post, and a lot has happened. In addition to working on a wide variety of projects, I've really been taking the time to explore and get to know the city. What I've found is that as I've begun to better understand New Orleans, I have also come to better understand myself. The past month or so has been an incredible learning experience for me.

The Volunteer Leaders have been busy working on a wide range of projects throughout the city. Here is an update on some of the work that we've been doing:

Women's Rebuild: Jessica and I participated in a day of rebuilding homeowner Mary's house (one of the warmest women I have had the pleasure to meet) with the Saint Bernard Project. As we hung sheetrock, Jess and I fully embraced the motto "a women's place is rebuilding the home."

Biloxi: We spent 5 days in the city of Biloxi, Mississippi, working with Hands On Gulf Coast and Hope Force rebuilding homes.

Crescent City Art Project: Fueled with 1900 volunteers from Starbucks, we team lead a project that created 1400 original paintings which were distributed to 25 schools throughout the Orleans Parish.

Main Street: We got our hands dirty working to restore an abandoned historical building on Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.

Bayou Rebirth: After an educational (and beautiful) canoe trip through the bayou, we team lead a wetland planting in the Lacombe Bayou, working to rejuvenate the damaged wetland infrastructure.

Saint George's: We volunteer on a weekly basis with Saint George's Dragon Cafe, preparing and distributing hot meals to members of the community.

So you see why I said that we've been busy!

I found this quote copied down on a picnic table at Hands On Gulf Coast. I thought it was beautiful, important, meaningful, and above all true. Reflect on it for a minute:

“So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.” - Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie

If you want to get involved, or have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me at rbcohn@gmail.com.

To Care in Crescent City

A few weeks have passed, and a few projects have been done. While I am beginning to feel that my job will be mostly authoring mentoring/tutoring programs that may have to be implemented in the next term, I am growing much more comfortable being in N'Orleans. It's funny how important small things become; your favorite restaurant, place to get a cup of coffee, street, park, bar. It lets you see a city as more than just a location.
Our latest corporate project is painting murals for schools, an affair financed by Starbucks. It's hard to think about Starbucks without thinking of Lewis Black's hysterical critique of the company, but it's encouraging to see that companies are investing some time and money into the betterment of the city. It's been fun so far, and though the work I've been doing with my other VLs has ranged a bit, it has brought some insight into what can be done to best help the city progress. If New Orleans is going to rebuild in a way that stabilizes it for the future, it's going to be done by New Orleans and the private sector.
From a personal standpoint, my views on what it means to be successful here have been greatly modified. Though I still put a high level of measure in being able to complete some programs here, I am finding that I am being shaped by my VL family. I'm learning to be a bit more open, less critical in my approach. In some ways, my VL family is a bit like N"Orleans; diverse, cultured, sensitive, thoughtful, foreign. We're all starkly different in our philosophies and backgrounds, sleep habits and diets. Funny how there's no real drama between us. Either way, it's good to be part of it.

Bunks

From bunkhouse

We started as Volunteer Leaders here the same day HONO started moving into their brand new Volunteer Housing Facility. (I just call it the bunkhouse.) It's a cool place, and I got to play with powertools while we re-assembled the bunks.

I got to know the bunks pretty well durring this - which was made more interesting by the names, dates, and little messages left behind by volunteers. Some people stuck with the standard - "Courtney's bed", "Adam slept here." Other people put their favorite inspirational quotes, or bible verses, or song lyrics. Some left advice, from the practical - "Cab ride from Bourbon: 6.80 + tip" to the more philosophical: "Trust your calling."

They ranged from a 12-year-old who came with her church group from Washington DC (Hi, Addison!) to reunion groups with college graduation years well before I was born. I saw schools from San Jose State University in California to Johnson State College in Vermont. (They drew a map.) People listed cities from Seattle to Boston, and I'm pretty sure there were all of the lower 48 states.

From bunkhouse

It may be silly, but seeing these little messages meant a lot to me. Living in New Orleans, it sometimes seems there's a disconnect between us and the rest of the country - that most people don't know or care what happens here. But each note and name is proof that someone did notice, and did care, enough to take time out of their life to come here and try to help.

From bunkhouse