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Dedication Day! Friday, August 21, 2009
We had one of the most exciting dedications we have ever seen! After working all week on the playground and building new relationships with the teachers and the principals, we knew they had something special up their sleeves, but we were blown away by what they did for us!
The dedication was in the Joseph Davies Elementary School cafeteria. All five hundred of the school’s children were waiting for us. The Chalmette High School band and cheerleaders were playing New Orlean’s style music and doing cheers to pump up the kids. The ceremony opened with cheers from the high school and elementary cheerleaders. They did a great job!
Then, they called our volunteers onto the stage and thanked them for their work. Each grade gave us thank you cards, books and posters. They also led us around the auditorium with the band like a giant congo line! Once we were back on the stage, city officials made our volunteers “Honorary Citizens” of St. Bernard’s Parish! There was also a speech by the Superintendant and our President, Jim Rosene. They also recognized Debbie Perez and the amazing work she has done for St. Bernard’s Parish and their school system. It was a very emotional ceremony and they made us feel so special. They were so thankful for their new playground!
Debbie Perez cut the ribbon and the kids were allowed on the playground. The playground was beautiful and it matched the school colors. The kids loved the steep slides and the high platforms. It was great to see the kids on the playground.
As we said our goodbyes to our new friends, we all couldn’t help but feel that this Parish and the schools in particular, were in good hands. The teachers love their students and do a great job teaching them. The facilities are top notch and two more schools are being built to reduce the teacher to student ratio. It is also apparent that the residents of St. Bernard’s are stronger and more committed than ever to rebuilding their community.
We were so grateful to be able to bring hope to the kids in this community one more time. We had a great time ministering here and appreciate all your prayers and support for us and for St. Bernard’s Parish. We want to thank all who were involved on this project: Debbie Perez and For the Kids of Katrina, Gethsemene Lutheran Church, the St. Bernard School System and all those who donated towards this project to make this playground a reality!
Thank you and God Bless the children of St. Bernard’s Parish!
Chris Marshall
Regional Vice President, West
Kids Around the World
Thursday, August 20, 2009 - Day 5
Since we finished the playground a day early, we decided to help other ministries in the area for the day. We went to the Veterans of Foreign War and helped clean and repair their headquarters. They had 2 feet of water and since most of their members have not returned the place needed some help. The members were excited to see us. They gave us beads to show us their appreciation. We were happy to help and give them a little hope for future programs.
We also went to the Garden District of the city to “gut” a house that was destroyed from Hurricane Katrina. This house was in bad shape and had everything you can imagine wrong with it. Stepping inside it you could imagine exactly what the people were going through after Hurricane Katrina. There was mold everywhere and all their personal items were destroyed. It was a sad sight. We felt good helping people get past this stage of their lives.
Overall it was a great day of serving and ministering to the people affected by Katrina. Thanks to the resolve of the people here and the countless groups that have come here to serve the area is returning to what it used to be.
Tomorrow we head to the playground dedication. We can't wait to see the kids on the playground! Please continue to pray for us as we serve the children of New Orleans.
Chris Marshall
Regional Vice President, West
Kids Around the World
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 - Day 4
One year after the first dollar was raised for Jo Davies Elementary School, the playground is officially complete! It did not come without a lot of hard work though! Any fundraising activity you can think of was done for this build. They had everything from a silent auction, bake sale, dinner benefit, ice cream nights, and even the first ever Kids Around the World blood drive! This day will be remembered as the day the children of Jo Davies finally got their playground thanks to the hard work of Debbie Perez, her family and their many supporters.
What started off as a pile of 100 yards of mulch at 8:30 AM was gone by 3:00 PM! The most exciting part of the day was definitely the involvement of the children helping! Just picture ten kids under 16 moving wheel barrels around, shoveling mulch and spreading it around! It really puts a lot into perspective, especially when they are asked why they came on this trip. The majority of the kids answered “To help the children of New Orleans.” To all of us at Kids Around the World there truly is nothing better than kids helping kids!
After we were all cleaned up we enjoyed dinner at the church and headed back to the school for a movie night. The school provided popcorn, pop, and candy for all of us to enjoy as we relaxed for the night. On Thursday we're going to 2 different locations that were devastated by the hurricane. One is a house that is in need of gutting and the other is the VFW Center (Veteran’s of Foreign Wars) which has been neglected since the hurricane. It will be another great day as we give back to a community that has lost so much. Thanks for your continued prayers and support!
For the Kids of Katrina,
Jeff Rosene
Kids Around the World
Tuesday, August 18, 2009 - Day 3
Our 32 volunteers, mostly from California came to New Orleans with the one goal of bringing hope to the children of New Orleans. For over a year this grade school with 700 children has only had a block of cement to play on for recess, but because of the dedication of these volunteers that is about to change! Can you imagine putting up a huge playground in just 2.5 days? That is exactly what this team has accomplished! We had to make them take breaks today, even through the heat and humidity. Every single person is constantly looking for what to do next!
Today was supposed to be the day where we had most of the structure put together, but we actually finished the structure early and bumped up the cement delivery 24 hours. The perimeter of large timber blocks is also almost complete thanks to our volunteers and a couple local people who came out to help. Tomorrow will be the mulch day where we will be moving more than 100 cubic yards. Our job will be complete after that! We have contacted some other local groups in the area and will be helping out on random jobs for Thursday!
For dinner tonight we went to one of our favorite places: Mulate’s in downtown New Orleans. It is always a hit with the children as they have live music and a huge dance floor. After dinner we stopped by Café Du Monde for some Beignets (powered donuts) and coffee.
Thanks for your continued support and prayers!
For The Kids of Katrina
Jeff Rosene
Kids Around the World
Monday, August 17, 2009 - Day 2
We started early in the morning, ready to get the main unit up. The team worked so hard through the heat and rain that they managed to get most of it constructed! It’s a tall and beautiful playground with high decks and longs slides. It went together so smoothly we may be finished a day early! The kids helped putting up climbers and the ladies carried heavy decks and slides. For a lot of the bigger parts, several of us had to lift the equipment into place and hold it high above our heads.
After the playground build we headed home to relax. Most of us were pretty tired from a long day of work. A group of ladies made dinner for us. They are a volunteer group that helps feed groups like us that visit New Orleans to help rebuild it. The food was great and the ladies were so much fun to speak with. They had amazing stories from Hurricane Katrina. Most of them lost everything they owned and were relocated to other parts of the country. They have just recently returned and are happy to see the Parish growing again. Tomorrow we are hoping to finish the main unit and perimeter. Thank you for your prayers and support of our team.
Chris Marshall
Regional Vice-President, West
Kids Around the World
Sunday, August 16, 2009 - Day 1
Today we started on our last playground build in St. Bernard’s Parish in conjunction with For the Kids of Katrina. This will be the 4th playground we have built for the Parish’s elementary schools and this one should be beautiful. Its located at Joseph Davies Elementary School and the school has only been open for 3 days. It’s a great school with high tech teaching aides and a great campus. The only thing missing is a playground!
Today we started digging holes with our 32 volunteers from California and Rockford, IL. The playground will be located on a large grassy area next to the school. The ground was pretty soft and we found lots of odds things once we got a few inches deep….metal, pvc, clothes! We were able to dig all 64 holes in four hours and we are now ready to start putting the playground together.
After working, we were able to go to a teacher's house for a BBQ and pool party. We had a great time hanging out with the people that were there. They were mostly teachers at the school and the principal. They told us stories about when Hurricane Katrina came and shared their experiences. They were so hospitable and happy that we were there. It was great to see southern hospitality at its finest!
Please continue to pray for us as we work down here in New Orleans…. God Bless.
Chris Marshall
Regional Vice-President, West
Kids Around the World
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