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Make A Smile
Over two years ago one of the worst natural disaster ever experienced by this country smashed into the gulf coast of the United States. Hurricane Katrina cut a wide path of destruction hitting hardest in Mississippi and Louisiana. For the first time ever an American City, New Orleans, was destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of people were immediately affected and over 1,000 Americans lost their lives. All of us have seen and read the personal tragedy that occurred; the destroyed homes, the massive flooding, and the awful suffering of so many. The disaster was almost unimaginable yet with every tragedy, some goodness always shines through. The response from average Americans and criminal justice professionals was immediate. Who could forget the image of Warden Burl Cain moving hundreds of inmates out of a flooded jail and into a bus station, or Warden Darrell Vannoy in a rescue boat floating down the street of New Orleans, and Secretary Richard Stalder bringing in all of the resources of his Department immediately.
Katrina caused tremendous suffering but the American spirit could not be washed away. All of us have seen CNN and MSNBC where the government stated billions of dollars have been sent to rebuild New Orleans through the FEMA response. There has certainly been an impact in that the hotels, the casino, and Bourbon Street are back in business. Even the St. Charles is back on line. You do not have to drive very far, however, to see that there is a long way to go. This is especially true in the 9th Ward. As Americans we should be ashamed to go through several areas and see that very little has been done. Individual home owners and their families are struggling to get back what they lost and live a normal life. These are just average Americans going to work everyday, paying taxes, and trying to do what is best for their children. Some areas still look like war zones, with abandoned homes and destroyed property. Yes there are some FEMA trailers, but imagine having you and your family live in a small camper trailer in the front yard of what used to be your home. These families are still in a fight with insurance companies and disaster relief agencies, trying to recover what they once had. It is hard to comprehend what has happened and how much recovery is still to be done. Not only New Orleans was affected when this storm smashed into the coast of Mississippi washing away homes, blowing off roofs, and taking away dreams. It continued on with its destructive path right through Louisiana. Many would say, what can we do?
NAAWS in partnership with CPO is trying to help in a small way. We are organizing a project called "Make A Smile." We are going to go into Louisiana and Mississippi to build playgrounds for children of those families who were so horribly affected. Especially targeting those areas where correctional families live. In the big picture it’s a small gesture, but it’s all about the children. These families will spend years trying to get back what they lost. We will try and take away some of the pain of the parents by giving their children a safe, healthy, fun place to go. Our first project will be the first week of May. We are going to build two playgrounds. One in the 9th Ward in New Orleans and another will be in the town of Bogalusa, a few miles from Rayburn Correctional Facility. It is our intent to construct playgrounds and picnic shelters at both sites. We have found a playground manufacturer to work with us and give us a great price. After these two playgrounds we hope to move on to Mississippi to the town of Moss Point. In addition, the week before ACA Congress, we hope to rehab at least 2 playgrounds inside the city of New Orleans. What we need now is your money and your sweat. We will need to raise over $100,000 and we will need 150 volunteers on site.
We all know the people in Mississippi and Louisiana are great people, hard working and resourceful. Right now they can use some help and especially our prayers.
All donations should be made out to "Make A Smile" (NAAWS) and sent to NAAWS, P. O. Box 11037, Albany, NY 12211-0037. If you can volunteer your labor, please email zukey5@aol.com. Please state what construction skills you have. Please do what you can. |
