[StBernard] Band Raises Money For Hurricane Victims

[Westley Annis]

Band Raises Money For Hurricane Victims

December 3 , 2005

By: Steve Cannizaro


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German jazz bands raise money for Katrina victims through concerts; some aid
goes to eight St. Bernard families.

Chris and Jodie Fisher of eastern St. Bernard Parish are proud their two 
school-age children have stayed on the honor roll despite being in four 
different schools since they fled Hurricane Katrina and lived in Texas for 
two months before coming back home.

On Saturday, however, Chris Fisher was saying, "To be honest I don't know 
what kind of Christmas'' those two children plus the couple's toddler will 
have because of financial problems caused by the storm.

But thanks to the generosity of Germans who raised money to donate for 
victims of Hurricane Katrina, the Fishers and seven other St. Bernard Parish

families split about $10,000 between them in a ceremony in Chalmette on 
Saturday.

"We're grateful,'' Chris Fisher said afterward. All eight families had been 
displaced because of Katrina and are trying to recover.

The money was part of donations raised through a series of benefit concerts 
for Katrina victims in Germany, featuring jazz bands. Part of the money was 
also donated to a New Orleans church, officials said.

Nicole Schweinberger, who lives in Germany and has brought tour groups of 
Germans to New Orleans for 11 years, and Dorette Davis, a tour guide who is 
a native of Germany but has lived in the New Orleans area for 40 years, met 
with the families and presented the donations on Saturday.

Four or five jazz bands held benefit concerts and donated proceeds to 
Katrina victims, Schweinberger said.

Many Germans are jazz lovers and are familiar with the music of New Orleans 
and wanted to help victims of Katrina, Davis said.

She said representatives of Fluor, a contractor working for the Federal 
Emergency Management Administration to bring travel trailers to St. Bernard 
residents left homeless by Katrina, suggested donating some of the money to 
St. Bernard victims,

St. Bernard Parish Council member Craig Taffaro Jr., who was present at the 
donation ceremony, said afterward, "It shows that there are a lot of good 
people in the world who want to help.''