VOLUNTEER FOR LOCAL CHARITIES

Listed below are selected organizations that are currently engaged in organizing, hosting or identifying community service projects for groups visiting New Orleans, contributing to the city’s recovery.

Habitat For Humanity
Contact: (504) 861-2077
volunteer@habitat-nola.org
www.habitat-nola.org

This group will be building homes for many months and years to come. The most visible site is Musician’s Village in the upper Ninth Ward, but there are sites all around the metropolitan area.

• Work day begins at 7:30 a.m., and Habitat provides instruction in the morning, followed by an entire day of work (or more), with a break for lunch. The work day ends at 2:30 p.m., with clean-up until 3:00 p.m.
• Lunch must be arranged for by the group. Habitat has catering companies they can recommend.
• Habitat can assist with ordering team t-shirts.
• Any communications-related issues must be coordinated with Habitat for Humanity.
• All equipment is on site.
• Transportation must be arranged for by the group.
• Groups must be comprised of 15 people and can be as large as hundreds.
• No building activity on Sunday or Monday.

• Volunteer opportunities range from half-day activities to 2-day opportunities, from assisting at Second Harvesters Food Bank to helping repaint and repair a person’s home damaged from Hurricane Katrina.

• Types of tasks include: light work helping with sign-in or distributing trash bags; medium strength required to pick up and bag or stack trash; volunteers with strong arms, legs and backs for digging out shrubs; chainsaw-savvy volunteers to cut down dead shrubs and small trees. Job benefits include immediate gratification of seeing the results of your work and knowing that you helped in the New Orleans' recovery.
• Equipment is provided on site.
• A group can provide their own catering, t-shirts, etc.
• Transportation must be arranged by the group.
• Beacon’s team is flexible with the start and finish time of the work day, but the ideal length of work is 3-4 hours.
• Volunteers are asked to bring gloves and goggles, if possible, but can be pre-arranged for with a nominal donation of $4-5 per person.
• Beacon of Hope asks for groups to confirm the number of volunteers 2 weeks in advance.
• Beacon of Hope can work with groups as small as 10-20 volunteers, and as large as 200 volunteers, although no more than 100 is ideal. Larger groups may have to spread out across multiple city blocks while working, depending on the project’s needs

• City Park has worked with groups numbering from 20 to 900 volunteers. Groups of 20-50 are the easiest to manage.
• They almost always have at least one staff person working with the volunteer group on their day of service.
• Given their financial situation, City Park asks that convention and corporate groups make a financial contribution to the park that will, at a minimum, cover the cost of supplies and materials used on the volunteer day. Supplies and materials can include paint, mulch, shovels, rakes, loppers, plant material, trash bags, etc. Contributions vary but tend to average between $25 and $50 per person. Most companies send a check and then City Park purchases supplies. They also have an inventory of in-house supplies that can be used for some projects.
• Work days lasting between 4 and 6 hours are optimum.
• Volunteers are encouraged to dress appropriately (no open-toed sandals), wear a hat, and apply sunscreen and insect repellant frequently.
• Volunteers are responsible for providing any food or beverages they wish to consume. Bring plenty of liquids, particularly during the summer months.
• Some sections of the park do not have restroom facilities at present. Volunteer groups may need to rent port-a-lets (average cost is $100 per day).
• City Park has many different projects that will vary depending on the financial contribution, the number of people in a volunteer group, the day on which you are coming, and the equipment available. Volunteers may paint, clear shorelines (the park has 22 miles of shorelines), pick up trash and debris, plant, mulch, or string Christmas lights.

• Current projects include: house gutting, mold remediation, rebuilding, animal shelter support, and mentoring in schools, in addition to other community outreach projects. Hands On New Orleans understands the interdependence of the various elements of the city that have been affected by Hurricane Katrina.
• Volunteer projects evolve in a "makes-sense" format as they engage in the renewal of those elements.
• Hands on New Orleans can provide housing to both short and long term volunteers.
• There is a fee per person charge to defray cost of equipment.
• Working takes places in a number of neighborhoods in New Orleans.