Yesterday, my sister (Stinko) and I spent the beautiful spring sunlight visiting playgrounds (KaBoom!), my new favorite hole in the wall barber shop/ lunch spot (the JuJu Bag) and 1 of our brand new school sites (Lake Terrace). Then we went to Carver/ Penn Field. Last night she sent me this…

chris jones was my husband.  he was born in september 1968 in georgia, i met him in july 2004 in texas and we got married in october 2006 also in texas.  he built things made of wood (and when i say built i mean everything he made was meant to last for a good 100 years or longer) as a hobby.  he drew houses as a living.  we came to new orleans seven months after we got married.  nola is home for me and we wanted to help to rebuild the city after the storm. the best way we could think to do that was to live here, have a family here, and grow old here.  we did not get to do all of that because chris died in july 2008.

for my birthday in 2006 he designed and built me a giant four poster bed.  he searched for weeks to find the right wood.  had his dad help him with the lathe to hand turn all four posts and the filial eggs for on top of them.  i had always wanted a four poster bed.  after he died, i had my brother help me take it apart (which was entertaining for me to watch because there were bolts, and hidden bolts, and screws you couldn’t see that troy had to find).  i loved the bed but i couldn’t sleep in it anymore.  troy kept the wood for me.  one day i knew he’d find a way to use it.

when the AmeriCorps NCCC silver 6  team and jill came to new orleans i got to work with them building KaBoom! playgrounds around the city.  what i didn’t know was that there was a “secret” project they were working on.  one that would mean so much to me.  they and my brother were building benches out of the wood from chris’ bed that would go to a baseball diamond that was to built this spring.  they cut and re-stained and varnished the wood and built two really beautiful (and comfortable) benches for people to use at the brand new baseball field.  the AmeriCorps NCCC gold 3 team and marnie then installed them this spring.  they made a plaque and brought it to my brother that says “in memory of chris jones”.

troy had a rare day off today and he called and asked me to lunch and said he had a surprise for me.  after we ate he drove me around to a couple different places and we ended up at the new baseball field.  we got out and walked around and then came to the benches that silver 6 made.  i recognized the wood.  then he brought out the plaque that gold 3 made and we walked to the back of the benches and he mounted the plaque.

i cannot imagine that chris would not be overjoyed at the re-purposing of the wood he so carefully chose and sanded and stained for me.  he wanted to bring something good to new orleans, because he didn’t believe that the people here deserved so much that was bad.  one of the very first things we ever did when we met was go to my first baseball game in round rock just outside of austin.  since he cannot be here in person to bring good things home i think he will be there in spirit every time a mom or dad  sits on the benches to watch their child play ball or a little brother or sister crawls or lies on those beautiful benches.  i can’t say thank you loudly or longly enough to silver 6 and jill and gold 3 and marnie and especially my brother troy.  what they have done for chris and for me is amazing.  what they all continue to do will be history changing for the city of new orleans and the people who call it home.

This Saturday RSD will be teaming up with Twisted Hair Salon and Americorps Vista and Americorps NCCC Gold2 and the ENTIRE community of New Orleans to host our first ever school supply drive. It’s at 4824 Prytania between the hours of 11 and 4.

Please bring us stuff… AND GET YOUR HAIRS CUT…

….It could be CLASSROOM SUPPLIES

pens, paper, notebooks, pencils, backpacks, pencil cases, scissors (lefty and righty), glue sticks, erasers, pencil sharpeners, children’s literature, folders (Lisa Frank, Hello Kitty, Spiderman… etc), calculators, rulers… you get the idea

OR

…ART SUPPLIES

          markers, paint, paintbrushes, glitter, crayons, coloured pencils, construction paper, yarn, felt, feathers, beads, macaroni, art books, easels, buttons, cotton balls, popsicle sticks, clothespins, googly eyes (and yes that is the correct spelling… I looked it up and please allow me to share with you the def of googly eyes… Googly eyes or wiggly eyes are large, bulging or rolling craft findings used to imitate eyes. The eyes traditionally are composed of a clear, hard-plastic shell, with a smaller, black plastic disk trapped within. The inner black disk is allowed to move freely within the larger clear plastic shell, which makes the eyes appear to move. Googly eyes are mainly involved in arts and crafts and are sometimes glued to inanimate objects for the purposes of portraying personification and humour….  AWESOME!!!)… but I digress… where was i… oh yes… pipecleaners, ribbon… and on, and on, etc, etc,

          OR

…SPORTS EQUIPMENT

          balls, balls, balls… softballs, basketballs, volley balls, footballs, soccer balls, baseballs, tennis balls, golf balls, cabbage balls, earth balls, kickballs, racquetballs, wiffle balls, lacrosse balls… enough balls…

          jump ropes (16’ for double dutch… cause… “when they do the double dutch, that’s them dancing”)

          gloves, bats, racquets, shoes (new), PARACHUTES!!!

…LAGNAIPPE

          I bet you can think of dozens, perhaps even hundreds of things I’m forgetting… I bet we need them too

I am currently a Corps Member in Americorps NCCC within a team of 10 others who have dedicated their time and energy to serving communities around the U.S.  We are currently in New Orleans, working with the Recovery School District assisting in various projects to better the education environment for the students of New Orleans.  Recently our Americorps team decided to develop a school supply drive for the RSD, asking for any donations, ranging from pencils to sports equipment.

While passing out flyers to local businesses for the drive, I stepped into the Party Basket, a festive party supply store. I began explaining the need for school supplies to Shannon Able and she jumped at the opportunity to donate supplies. She said would be giving me a call when all the supplies were put together. I received a call early the next morning informing me that the donations were ready to be picked up. Shannon had given us an estimate of 6 to 7 boxes of stationary and a bundle full of gift wrap that could be used for arts and crafts.

With this generous donation, we envisioned a project involving students sending letters to those serving over seas in the military. Not only will this engage the children in writing and literacy, geography and global relations but, give those receiving the letters a feeling of hope, honor and a sense of home.

Andre Bennett Americorps NCCC Gold2

 The power of television helped a New Orleans high school receive a $130,000 gift of flooring from a national supplier, and labor from a Birmingham flooring company.

It was 6:45 a.m. last Friday, and MSNBC’s ”Morning Joe” was on the air, featuring John McDonogh High School, which was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

”Since that time, we’ve been opening schools as population returns, and there is so much more work to be done,” said Siona LaFrance, a Birmingham native and communications director for the Recovery School District in New Orleans.

Spalding, Starbucks and Houghton Mifflin made hefty on-air donations to the school. Meanwhile, Digger Phelps, the retired University of Notre Dame basketball coach, issued an onair challenge to Robbins Sports Surfaces of Cincinnati to help replace the school’s gym floor.

It just so happened that Joe Covington, president of Birmingham’s Covington Flooring Co. Inc., was in New Orleans on business and was just two miles from the school. The next thing Covington knew, he was driving to the school and measuring the gym.

”I need to make a few calls,” he told people gathered in the gym. ”I am not promising anything yet.”

After a slew of phone calls, Covington received the go-ahead. By then the morning show had ended, but MSNBC returned live to the school at 9:20 a.m. so that Covington could announce Robbins had agreed to donate the flooring and Covington Flooring would donate the labor.

”I was floored,” said Troy Peloquin, volunteer and donations coordinator for the

Recovery School District. ”I’ve never seen anything like that.”

In March, the school will receive 8,000 square feet of Robbins’ MVP, a flooring system designed to provide uniformity and minimize vibrations.

”We are delighted and indeed fortunate to be able to pitch in and give back to the community at this time,” said Jay Stoehr, president and chief executive officer of Robbins.

Covington also was happy to oblige.

”I was close by,” he said. ”We could react quickly, and our supplier could act quickly as well. From the time Digger Phelps made the challenge and when I was at the school was 30 minutes.”

City Year, MSNBC, and Starbucks “Brewing Together” at John McDonogh Senior High, November 20 2009

 What started as a simple idea to paint one mural in a hallway at John McDonogh Senior High culminated November 20th in an amazing day of service that partnered MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” with Joe Scarborough and Starbucks and HandsOn’s and City Year and many more all “Brewing Together”.

Broadcasting live from John Mac, with hundreds of animated volunteers eagerly painting murals in the background, the crew of “Morning Joe” encouraged community involvement and stressed the importance of giving back and inspiring others to do the same.  Putting their money where there mouth was, MSNBC’s sponsor and partner, Starbucks, announced their massive monetary gift to the school for renovations, which sparked additional donations throughout the 3-hour broadcast.  Show guest Digger Phelps amazed us with his talk to the students, inspiring them with real life, applicable ideals and goals.  This Notre Dame Head coach actually called out flooring companies on air.  And guess what? Covington Flooring Company, based out of Birmingham, just happened to have a representative in town on business who arranged to donate a new gym floor. And if that wasn’t enough generosity for one day, the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Co. also donated 700 books for classroom sets (35 copies of 20 classics) along with parachuting in leaders for five full days of professional development, a software upgrade, and even the possible development of a Parent Academy.  The NBA and Spalding donated new hoops and backboards for the gym, while NBC News donated a one-year subscription of News Archives and a college tour trip for freshman. There were even enough Red Sox hats for every student at John Mc… (to the dismay of Troy Peloquin, a lifelong Yankees fan… Hey Girardi #27… Where Y’at?)

 It was truly amazing to see how giving could be so contagious!  But it was not only the generous donations that made the day so special.  City Year Louisiana, part of an organization composed of young leaders dedicated to making a difference in schools and communities, really made the project possible as they meticulously sketched out murals and worked above an beyond their full-time commitments to prepare for and organize for the event.  The City Year corps members truly showed heart and dedication to their students and community.

 So, whether you were painting a mural, pouring paint for someone else to paint a mural, or donating to a school and its students who desperately need and deserve love and attention–thank you thank you thank you.

 Let’s keep this ball bouncing on into the New Year. Let it be contagious. To see the individuals that make up Networks and huge Corporations reaching out to the individuals that make up schools and communities is what this season and this Country are all about.  At this time and beyond this time, let us remember that if you want to see a miracle,,, Be the miracle.

… and thanks Dana

Just in time for the holiday season, the Recovery School District of New Orleans has received a generous donation of 150,000 books from Barnes and Noble and Reader to Reader.  AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) is very excited to help distribute these books to schools in time for them to be handed them out to students as festive gifts before break.  You may remember Reader to Reader from the Mo Willems Elephant and Piggie Book project… well, they are back with a mission. Teaming up with Barnes and Noble to truck in 2 18 wheelers, that’s 48 pallets, yes 150,000 books… guess what I’m doing next week. Please raise a glass this season for people like Mo and David and Angelo. You make my job easy and challenging, heart warming and back breaking… for this, I thank you. You are righteous.

And when you are at Barnes and Noble, picking up the complete DVD set of both seasons of Pushing Daisies (troy reccomended and approved) or John Irving’s new Book (what is it about him and hands?) , take a minute to thank your bookseller… they were instrumental in making this possible.

oh yeah… and Go Saints

t

Hopefully all of your Thanksgiving’s were filled with turkey or tofurkey, sweet potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, pecan pies and very good company. For many of us here at the Recovery School District the week of Thanksgiving was saturated with post hole diggers, table saws, bright purples, greens, yellows and blues, mulch, the cupid shuffle, red beans, flare, hard work, and ultimately a complete new playground for Coghill Elementary.  So many volunteers came out the day after Thanksgiving to work with the Coghill school community, AmeriCorps, dedicated volunteers, State Farm and the Bayou Classic to provide the Cougars with a new play space to fill the once vacant field behind the school.  Not only did everyone work together to build this playground, but also new benches, picnic tables, a double shade structure, and art were all added to the site.  State Farm and the Bayou Classic have now partnered together with KaBOOM! and our schools for the last 3 years to provide our students with a new, safe place to exercise and play.  Thank You! The enthusiasm that State Farm comes down with for New Orleans, the big game, KaBOOM! and our students radiates into every aspect of the process and especially the build day. This KaBOOM! playground build was especially exciting for the AmeriCorps NCCC team Gold 2, who spent their first week of work, on their first project, of their year of service on site for prep day and build day helping to lead hundreds of volunteers.  Welcome Gold 2 to your project with the Recovery School District and to our city.  Thank you so much to all involved in helping create a new playground for the Coghill Cougars.  A playground is such a simple, yet crucial aspect of the school environment that helps provide students with a reason to be enthused to play, grow and learn.

As if the excitement of one new playground was not enough, KaBOOM! came back the following week to help create another new play space here in New Orleans.  Lakeview Presbyterian Church is now the proud site of a beautiful new playground.  An exceptional thanks must go out to the Junior League of New Orleans who is “committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving our community” and who partnered with the Church in order to ensure the success of the playground.  While talking to one of the members of the church on build day they were eager to share their excitement about not just building a playground for the church, but one that was open to all children in the community to enjoy.  The playground went up on a beautiful site now clad with art by children, benches, new trees, picnic tables painted with checker boards, a shade structure, and a garden space.  Although the skies initially warned of possible snow and a very chilly morning, by the afternoon the sun came out and the fence became lined with removed sweatshirts, jackets and gloves.  Thank you again for all of the volunteers, AmeriCorps, KaBOOM!, Lakeview Presbyterian Church, and the Junior League of New Orleans for helping to create another safe area for our children to play and enjoy. 

We Love You KaBOOM!