Project: Katrina Hope…raise funds…raise walls…raise spirits

New Yorkers supplied Shannon and I with an exhilarating morning. We met Hobart and William Smith Colleges at an assisted living center, where they began painting ceilings. Yesterday, they sprayed the mold of the six-floor building and then dropped furniture out the windows to a dumpster on a homemade pulley system…talk about creativity! The living center will hopefully be occupied again someday, but we don’t know where all of the people living here went. However, this was a great group; Shannon commented on how inviting and close-knit they are, and I couldn’t agree more. Though the work required lots of looking upward, they have their feet firmly planted on the ground.

This evening, we will be heading to Bon Ton Café (people from my hometown know about this connection), followed by an early night in the French Quarter. Tomorrow, we’re meeting up with North Central Texas College, who will be doing recruitment with the Red Cross. Their group leader told me the Red Cross lost 80% of its volunteers after Katrina, and this group has been very involved with the organization throughout the past five years.

Thank you for the e-mails and phone calls of support in the past week! It’s been incredibly uplifting to know that people care about Project: Katrina Hope and our efforts in the documentary. Below are a few glimpses of the HWS group today.

Posted on March 18th, 2008 by Gretchen Wieland
Filed under: From Gretchen