Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
after Katrina left. This new breed of hardy tourist reports for duty during the day and parties
it up in the French Quarter at night, nobly putting money back into the struggling economy.
For the foreseeable future, there is no shortage of volunteer jobs. New Orleans needs
every kind of skilled and unskilled volunteer who is willing to show up. Obviously, construc-
tion and medical skills are needed, but there are volunteer jobs in everything from child care
to food preparation to conducting needs assessment surveys. For a while, City Hall even ac-
cepted volunteers to answer city phones.
Some volunteer groups are able to house and feed their volunteers in makeshift camps
or at churches or surviving community centers, but if you can afford it and really want to
“make a difference,” consider paying for hotels, eating out at restaurants, and using free time
to patronize local attractions. Not only does this arrangement help local businesses stay open,
but it also reduces the burden on relief organizations. Many New Orleans hotels even offer
special packages for volunteers. The Windsor Court on the edge of the French Quarter, for
example, provides rides to volunteer sites with the Habitat for Humanity Package, as well as
free Cajun cooking classes to volunteer groups of ten or more.
WHILE YOU'RE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Gray Line Bus Tours, along with its long-standing New Orleans ghost tours and
cemetery tours, now offers a Katrina Disaster Tour. While it might sound ghoulish,
New Orleanians, including Gray Line vice president Greg Hoffman, who lost his
home, want outsiders to see and understand the depth of the catastrophe. Narrated
by local tour guides, all with their own personal Katrina stories, the three-hour tour
includes a visit to an actual levee that was breached by the storm and important stats
about New Orleans's contribution to the U.S. and global economies. At first, Gray
Line balked at offering such a tour, but when members of Congress who had res-
isted funding the rebuilding changed their mind after seeing the destruction, the de-
cision was made. The tour is offered at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. daily. Three dollars from
each ticket is donated to one of four New Orleans charities and each participant is
asked to sign a petition asking President Bush to honor his promise that FEMA will
not stop until New Orleans is rebuilt, which is sent each week to Bush and other
government officials. Gray Line ticket office, foot of Toulouse Street at Mississippi
River, 800-535-7786 or 504-569-1401, www.graylineneworleans.com.
The following is a short list of some of the grassroots organizations that would gladly
welcome your shining face. In addition, the Louisiana governor's office has a blanket website
for volunteers at www.volunteerlouisiana.gov, or call 866-286-3835 or 225-342-3070.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search