By 
Last month the virtual ElderCounsel team met up in New Orleans for our annual in-person staff meeting. In addition to back-to-back meetings we make time to do a team building activity. Last year we volunteered at Opportunity Village in Las Vegas (read about that here). This year we went to New Orleans and wanted to make a difference for the people still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. It's hard to believe that 10 years later this city is still rebuilding.
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the New Orleans area, leaving massive, almost indescribable, destruction in her wake. Eighty percent of New Orleans was under water; nearby St. Bernard Parish was deemed 100% uninhabitable.
Ten years later, an estimated 6,000 families who owned homes before Hurricane Katrina still do not have the funds or resources necessary to rebuild. These families are St. Bernard Project's clients.
Watch the video below to get a glimpse into our volunteer time. It may have been dirty but the reward of helping others in need was well worth it.
St. Bernard Project was founded in March 2006 by Zack Rosenburg and Liz McCartney after the couple volunteered in St. Bernard Parish following Hurricane Katrina. Inspired by residents' collective spirit and fierce desire to rebuild their homes and communities, Zack and Liz launched SBP to help the community achieve its recovery goals. SBP’s model is deeply subsidized by AmeriCorps members from all over the country who serve as client case managers, volunteer coordinators, and construction site supervisors, overseeing the labor of more than 10,000 volunteers, per location, each year. Since 2006, SBP has rebuilt homes for nearly 900 families with the help of more than 100,000 volunteers in New Orleans, LA; Joplin, MO; Staten Island, NY; Rockaway, NY; and Monmouth County, NJ.
