Volunteer with Phoenix of New Orleans

Hello Bloggers,

I graduated from Tulane last year, but I am back with news of how you can help with the rebuilding effort in New Orleans. As a student (okay, and also now as a poor college graduate) I was always frustrated when people ask me to help the community by simply donating money; as students we often have time, not money to contribute. Right now I'm working with the Phoenix of New Orleans (PNOLA). While PNOLA is attracting funding from around the country, there is volunteer work to be done on the ground in New Orleans, and your volunteer time would be invaluable to us. Full time, part-time, once, group or alone, you can volunteer with us and make a difference. Read more to find out what you can do to help us....Oh, and I added a little bit about monetary donations at the end...don't be afraid to send that info along to your parents.

The Phoenix of New Orleans, or PNOLA, is a block-by-block rebuilding project with the mission of rebuilding a hurricane damaged neighborhood in Mid-City. Prior to Hurricane Katrina, this neighborhood was a slightly run down mixed income, mixed race New Orleans neighborhood; today we plan to rebuild this neighborhood as a symbol of national unity. With the support of national donors and local volunteers we can together help the residents of this damaged New Orleans neighborhood be reborn as “America’s Quarter,” a neighborhood unified by the direct support of Americans nationwide.

PNOLA has a strict “no red tape” policy with regard to its rebuilding strategies. With this mentality, PNOLA believes that a small but strong and diligent executive staff, a Council to manage local cooperative organizations and contractors, volunteers, neighbors, and an interactive progress tracking center for our donors to see the changes being made will together successfully rebuild this neighborhood.

THE NEIGHBORHOOD

The neighborhood to be rebuilt as “America’s Quarter” covers the expanse of blocks within the bounds of the Broad Ave.-Canal St.- Claiborne Ave-Tulane Ave, a total of 36 blocks. This Mid-City area is close to the downtown medical centers, the Superdome, and residents would have close access to the Canal Street Streetcar. Within this space there are 260 homes and 100 local businesses and several empty lots. The neighborhood received 3 to 5 feet of flood water after Hurricane Katrina, and FEMA reported a 30% to 40% damage assessment for the entire neighborhood. The streets have always been underfinanced, but after the hurricane, every car was destroyed, electrical lines were strewn across streets, and a layer of toxic residue covered the flooded surfaces. This neighborhood will not be bulldozed, but it also will not receive much FEMA money. Without your help, this neighborhood will be an expanse of uninhabitatable brownfields. This neighborhood was seriously damaged, but has the unique potential to be rebuilt now.

PNOLA has formed a Coalition of Property Owners and is creating a Neighborhood Registry to determine who is returning to New Orleans, who the local landlords and renters are, and who is planning to sell or purchase property in the neighborhood. With this information, PNOLA intends to arrange sustainable rebuilding project block-by-block.

STARTING OUT…

PNOLA has set a tentative date of February 11 (Saturday) through February 13 (Monday) at 9:00am to put our first group of volunteers, neighbors and contractors on the ground in mid-city New Orleans to construct 36 block management stations, as well of the primary staging area at 1927 Tulane Ave. The primary staging area will consist of a main supply depot, a rebuilding coalition headquarters, a service city for contract laborers, a communication station, and a volunteer support counter.

Infrastructure to be constructed on Feb 11- Feb 13

I. Block management stations (36); 1 per block
a. Ideally these will be trailers, but they may be 10x10 footprint canopies or tents
b. When building begins, each of these stations will be equipped with digital camera, generator + fuel, CB radio, food and water, (hopefully) wireless internet

II. Primary staging area (Block B8, 1927 Tulane Ave.)
a. Main supply depot: storage warehouse for tools, housing fixtures, wood, drywall, etc.
b. Rebuilding coalition headquarters: Provide a physical location for interaction between homeowners, engineers and architects that would aid neighborhood in being rebuilt in such a way that it is historically preserved, flood proof, and reflects American unity
c. Service city: provide services for hurricane victims in the neighborhood, to help them transition back to New Orleans
d. Communication station: radio communication between primary staging area for supply requests, internet access for posting data online, compiling spending reports, activity reports and donor reports
e. Volunteer support center: place where neighborhood members and volunteers can be assigned daily jobs, sign in/sign out

We are also looking for organizations that would be interested in forming a long-term partnership with PNOLA.

Volunteer Groups/Individuals
PNOLA is in need of volunteers who can assist with:
1. Construction, yard work, debris removal, etc. (any skill level)
2. Food supply/distribution to neighbors, contractors or volunteers
3. Volunteer check-in/assignments
4. Block manager assistance

Volunteers are always useful…whether you can commit to providing people for a month or a day, feel free to contact PNOLA.

PNOLA Council
The council will be made up of those organizations, businesses, officials and community leaders that have been or want to be highly involved in the process of rebuilding this neighborhood. Each member institution will be represented on the council by one individual who will act as the spokesperson for that institution, and vote on behalf of the institution during council meetings. Member organizations originating outside New Orleans should either have, or plan to have an on-location field office in the affected area.

Each member institution must select a spokesperson that is able to commit to this representative position for at least one month. The spokesperson must reside in New Orleans for his/her term of service. If the spokesperson is from a local displaced institution and cannot have a physical field presence:

1. The local institution must have an established work history within the city of New Orleans, or be represented by an established spokesperson

OR

2. The institution must make a commitment to serve on the Council for more than one year; if this is the case, council contributions can be made online until a physical council member arrives in New Orleans.

Block managers (10)
Block managers will oversee a four (4) neighborhood blocks and will keep the project manager abreast of rebuilding progress. They will also be reporting this progress directly to the PNOLA website for donors, neighbors and council members to view.

Block managers will be responsible for taking pictures and videos of construction and other improvements taking place on their assigned blocks. They will also submit spending reports, activity reports, neighbor issue reports, and contractor sign-in/sign-out sheets.

Block managers will help with quality control of construction and ensure that contractors are performing their duties in a timely and complete manner.

Block managers must also be available to help neighbors with any issues: problem reports, service needs. Block managers will trouble-shoot these issues themselves, or bring them to the attention of those who can trouble-shoot them.

There are many jobs to be done as PNOLA and I encourage all of you to explore the PNOLA website, accessed online at www.pnola.org. I especially enjoy the virtual walking tour of the neighborhood. As the blocks become repaired, photos of the improvements will be posted.

TO NAVEGATE WEBSITE TO VIRTUAL WALKING TOUR:
Go to www.pnola.org.
Click on “sponsor a block.”
Click on any block in the interactive map picture. (Ex: Block C2)
A block profile will pop-up, which describes the street boundaries, donation goals, number of homes and business, status of the neighborhood, flood damage, etc.

At the bottom of the page take a virtual walking tour of the neighborhood by clicking on photos.

COMMEMERATIVE SIDEWALKS PROGRAM
All donors or donor groups will have their name inscribed in the Phoenix of New Orleans Donor Book which will be on permanent display in the neighborhood upon completion. Donations greater then $1000 will entitle the donor to receive a special commemoration plate embedded into the neighborhood design.

Within the new sidewalks of each block, commemoration plates will be embedded around the edges to show visitors who supported the development of the block. Different plates will be associated with different levels of sponsorship and major donors will have an option of a commemoration plate embedded in landmarks throughout the neighborhood including lampposts, street signs, park benches, etc.

All commemoration plates will be subtly integrated into the neighborhood landscape and donor names may be combined on plates to keep an aesthetic, natural look throughout the neighborhood. Too many plates may make the neighborhood look overly "purchased".

IF YOU HAVE ALREADY DONATED MONEY ELSEWHERE, PETITION THAT ORGANIZATION TO SPONSOR A BLOCK

The rebuilding phase needs as much money or more money than the emergency/urgent phase, but many of donors have spent their charity funds on other organizations immediately after Hurricane Katrina.

To insure that these funds are used for the rebuilding phase as well as the emergency phase, we need you to send a message to the recipient organization(s)to let them know that PNOLA is an important part of rebuilding New Orleans and that you, a donor, would approve of their decision to sponsor a block using a part of your donation.

Call (877) 895-1841 for questions regarding the petition process. A web petition can be submitted from the PNOLA website, just click on “Already donated elsewhere.”

Thank you for your time. If you have any questions for me about the UPC housing program, feel free to contact me. If you have any questions about PNOLA you can contact me or Paul Ikemire.

PHOENIX OF NEW ORLEANS
www.pnola.org
Director: Paul Ikemire
Phone: 877-895-1841
director@pnola.org

I hope to hear back from you soon.

Sincerely,
Meghan H. Greeley
225-344-7695
gree23@gmail.com