NEW ORLEANS, LA –Approximately 200 volunteers joined City agencies, the New Orleans Police and Fire Departments and community organizations for the first “NOLA FOR LIFE Volunteer Day” on Saturday, July 14, 2012. The event was coordinated through ServeNOLA, the Mayor’s service and volunteerism initiative, and is a part of Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s NOLA FOR LIFE plan.
“We put out the call and the community responded,” said Mayor Landrieu. “This event was successful because the City, local neighborhood organizations, local non-profits and volunteers from throughout New Orleans worked together to achieve our goal of revitalizing these communities and making them safer.”
Volunteer efforts targeted the areas around Taylor Playground in the Hoffman Triangle neighborhood of Central City and Hardin Playground in the Seventh Ward. Activities included improvements to both playgrounds, and neighborhood beautification along the surrounding streets within the designated borders. In all, volunteers built five picnic tables and four park benches, cleared 21 catch basins, filled 119 bags of trash, collected five tires and three mattresses, painted 12 utility poles and replaced two basketball nets. Volunteers also painted the baseball diamond and power washed the court at Taylor Park.
In addition to the volunteers’ work to improve playgrounds and clean up neighborhoods, the effort included blight eradication and beautification efforts from City departments including Code Enforcement & Hearings Bureau, NOPD (Quality of Life officers), Sanitation, NORD, Public Works, Parks & Parkways, Sheriff’s Office, Office of Neighborhood Engagement and Mosquito, Rodent & Termite Control Board. In all, the City repaired 14 streetlights, towed 16 abandoned cars, towed one boat, filled 299 potholes, cleared 36 debris sites, replaced one street sign and closed out 311 work orders. The New Orleans Mosquito, Termite & Rodent Control sprayed one lot for mosquitoes and treated both parks for mosquitos and 42 catch basins. And finally, JOB1 offered 30 summer jobs to youth and registered several youth for career centers.
The City also demolished two blighted properties: • 1978-80 N. Dorgenois (short video available on Mayor’s YouTube page here) • 2715 S. Galvez
Rebuilding Together New Orleans, Hands on New Orleans, the Young Leadership Council and Rouse’s partnered with the City of New Orleans in this effort. Crimestoppers participated at both locations.
Photos are available on Mayor Landrieu’s Facebook page here.
