1,000 Volunteers Help 50 Displaced New Orleans Families Rebuild Their Homes, in 5 Days

Rebuilding Together's Fifty For Five effort helps people who are still affected by Hurricane Katrina.
Also see photos of New Orleans five years after Katrina.

November 30, 2010 at 2:13PM by Brian Clark Howard | comment

Onaje Lombard hammered, scraped and painted as long as he could, before torrential rains drove him inside his house in the Gentilly section of New Orleans. More than a dozen people crowded into the small living room, panchos dripping on the linoleum.

These people were all volunteers, who were in town from all over the country to support Rebuilding Together's Fifty for Five week, with the goal of getting 50 Gentilly families who had been displaced by Hurricane Katrina back into single-family homes.

"It's been awesome. This is a good group of people from everywhere," Lombard said of the volunteer efforts, which were supported by Sears, GE, and a raft of other corporate sponsors.

Perhaps most exciting, much of the rebuilding effort was being done with green in mind, from the donated energy-efficient appliances to reuse of old materials and extra insulation.

So check out the original video from The Daily Green above.

Also see photos and more info about the rebuilding process.

Disclosure: Sears covered the travel and accommodations for this reporter's visit to New Orleans.

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