Truemors
is reporting from
Member
NP Rank:
NP Rank:
In New Orleans, already started Barack Obama's call for service
Share:
by René | January 25, 2009 at 01:10 pm
80 views | 6 Recommendations | 3 comments
InsideOut editor Renee Peck, Times-Picayune
For once, New Orleans is on the cutting edge of a trend. And when you live in a state that inevitably ranks in the Top 10 for things like obesity and the bottom two for things like education, that's a revelation.
As I listened to President Barack Obama talk about the spirit of service in his inaugural address this week, I realized that we got there first. Sure, it happened because of Hurricane Katrina, but maybe it's also because we are a generous, community-minded populace with open hearts and resilient spirits. And we attract the same.
The metropolitan area has become the nation's biggest backyard laboratory for service learning and volunteerism. That's surely why MTV chose New Orleans as the site of one of three international service projects to spotlight during its "Be the Change" programming on Tuesday night, during inauguration festivities.
"The producers felt like, when you talk about community service, New Orleans is the right place to be, " MTV DJ and location host Carlos Santos said.
Two weeks ago, I gave what I hope will be one of my last death-and-destruction tours to a van full of students from Kenyon College, who spent the week landscaping houses in Central City. Most of them, like leaders Molly McGannon and Dan Caplan, have been here numerous times. The experience, they say, gives them something that a few days on the beach in Florida doesn't provide.
"I really wish I could tell everyone in person about New Orleans and tell them about how wonderful the city is and the people are, and how badly they need everyone's help, " Caplan told me.
Over the years, I've interviewed many people who came here for Mardi Gras and never left. Now, I'm interviewing young people who come to volunteer and never leave.
And they do it without expectations of recompense.
What is NowPublic?
NowPublic lets people work together to cover news events around the world.
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (3)
at 20:49 on January 25th, 2009
A very good story. Maybe this spirit of service will last.
at 19:52 on January 26th, 2009
This has lasted four years so far, without any perks from the government. Many come, fall in love and stay.
Let's hope it spreads. but New Orleans is unique. Only someone who has spent some time here, not just a brief tourist visit, can understand. It is a cosmpolitan city made up of communities. Neighborhood communities.
at 06:28 on March 2nd, 2009
I've only spent 3 1/2 days in New Orleans (in January) but I fell in love with the city. I was very relieved to discover that it was far better off than I had heard. I think the mainstream media has painted a much bleaker picture of the post-Katrina recovery progress.
Because I was able to participate in some of the workshops and tours conducted by the New Orleans' downtown business association, I definitely had a better chance than a typical tourist to get a sense of what's been going on and to see how the city is made up of many unique communities that serve to make it so unique and intriguing.
I also learned how the hurricane actually provided N.O. with an opportunity to start over since a lot of "corruption" was blown away too. Many young, progressive and creative individuals have moved there to help the newly energized creative leaders shape the new, New Orleans.
I'll be writing more about this in Part 2 of my article, "New Orleans NOW". Part 1 describes some of my misconceptions of the city as well and how my sense of trepidation eased during the ride into downtown from the airport. My article also looks at how New Orleans compares to my home of Windsor, Ontario (an auto town), which has been hit hard by the current economic slowdown.