For Immediate Release:

May 30, 2008

Contact:  David Burch

(703) 341-5054 or dburch@voa.org

Volunteers of America Organizes Army of 350 to Rebuild Parts of St. Bernard Parish

June 8 “Day of Service” will focus on restoring area high school, church while building community

NEW ORLEANS – Volunteers of America, a national leader in supporting communities by providing affordable housing and other social services, will dispatch an army of more than 350 volunteers to help rebuild parts of St. Bernard Parish that remain devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The day of service coincides with Volunteers of America’s National Conference scheduled June 7-10 in New Orleans and is part of the organization’s long-term commitment to rebuild the Gulf Coast region.

When: Sunday, June 8 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Where: Locations throughout St. Bernard Parish, La., including Hannan High School, 2501 Archbishop Hannan Blvd. in Meraux; Val Reiss Park, 3900 Palminaso Blvd. in Chalmette; Violet Park No. 2, 6609 East St. Bernard Highway in Violet; and City of Hope Church, 7451 West St. Bernard Highway in Arabi.
Who: More than 350 volunteers from across the United States, organized by Volunteers of America and IMPACT Ministries. A coalition of 20 clergy members from churches throughout St. Bernard Parish also has been involved in rebuilding the community on a grassroots level. Volunteers will work to rebuild recreational facilities at the storm-ravaged high school, including landscaping and renovating three football fields. They also will restore the basketball courts at Violet Park No. 2 and perform drywall installation, painting and landscaping at the church.
Benefiting: The residents of St. Bernard Parish, which remains devastated almost three years after Hurricane Katrina made landfall.

In addition to providing workers, Volunteers of America donated $30,000 in materials, including a new air conditioning unit, to help rebuild the church.

“Our mission for more than a century has been to serve people and communities in vulnerable situations,” said Charles Gould, national president and chief executive officer of Volunteers of America. “Most of the volunteers participating in this day of service are Volunteers of America’s own employees and their families. In our line of work, it is important for us to go out into the community, get our hands dirty and connect personally with those in need. We hope this effort will help us establish stronger bonds with the people we serve every day.”

At noon, Volunteers of America will host two block parties, one at City of Hope Church in Arabi and the other at Memorial Christian Fellowship Baptist Church, located at 5816 East Judge Perez Drive in Violet, for approximately 500 residents of the surrounding neighborhoods. The events will include food, music and children’s games and are designed to help restore a sense of community among neighbors torn apart by the storm.

“During the past three years, Volunteers of America has made rebuilding the New Orleans region a top priority,” said Jim LeBlanc, president and chief executive officer of Volunteers of America of Greater New Orleans. “We hope the work we perform in St. Bernard Parish will help that community move one step closer to re-establishing what was taken away by Hurricane Katrina.”

The organization has served the area’s most vulnerable residents since 1896 and is working today to build affordable housing that will allow displaced residents to return and rebuild lost communities. Volunteers of America established the “Coming Back Home” initiative to create more than 1,000 units of affordable rental housing and has partnered with other nonprofits through Katrina Aid Today to touch the lives of nearly 200,000 people with much-needed care and services.

Volunteers of America is one of the largest nonprofit developers and providers of affordable housing nationwide and has been a leader in rebuilding homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina:

• In March, Volunteers of America broke ground on The Terraces on Tulane, a 200-unit community for low-income seniors located in New Orleans’ Mid City neighborhood. The development – which will provide medical services and amenities including an on-site exercise room and computer lab – is expected to be complete by late 2009.
• In August 2007, Volunteers of America opened the newly renovated The Duvernay Residence on Canal Street. The 70-unit facility for formerly homeless adults sustained more than $600,000 in damage from Hurricane Katrina. Additional units have been restored at the 3901 Tulane Avenue Residence, which also sustained significant damage from the hurricane.
• In partnership with the Major League Baseball Players Trust and other major donors, Volunteers of America established the Rental Housing Development Fund, which will be used to develop affordable rental housing in the Gulf Coast region.
• Volunteers of America of Greater New Orleans recently partnered with students from Parsons The New School for Design to develop a plan for a mixed-use, mixed-income community along the Mississippi riverfront as part of the JPMorgan Chase Community Development Competition. The competition invites graduate schools with urban planning programs to work with a community-based nonprofit on a project that helps with organization with a real estate need.

Volunteers of America of Greater New Orleans served more than 62,000 people in 2007, not counting disaster services provided to more than 166,000 individuals. The organization serves 16 parishes in the region and provides hundreds of units of affordable housing, a variety of services for the elderly and disabled, and support for those living with HIV and AIDS, among its many programs.

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Volunteers of America is a national, nonprofit, faith-based organization dedicated to helping those in need rebuild their lives and reach their full potential. Through thousands of human service programs, including housing and healthcare, Volunteers of America helps more than 2 million people in over 400 communities.  Since 1896, our ministry of service has supported and empowered America's most vulnerable groups, including at-risk youth, the frail elderly, men and women returning from prison, homeless individuals and families, people with disabilities, and those recovering from addictions. Our work touches the mind, body, heart-and ultimately the spirit-of those we serve, integrating our deep compassion with highly effective programs and services. For more information about Volunteers of America, visit http://www.volunteersofamerica.org/.