[StBernard] A big thank you!

[Westley Annis]

A big thank you!

By Elizabeth Laurence and Virginia Walck 

ROCKPORT (July 6): We want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for
being so supportive at the From Our Bay to The Bayou New Orleans Habitat for
Humanity Auction. The two of us worked extremely hard over the past month
organizing the event, and were pleased not only by how smoothly the day
went, but also by all the familiar faces we saw at the Auction. We would
like to thank Stefan Low for providing us with fantastic music, Bruce Gamage
for putting on a tremendous live auction, and the business owners who
donated auction items for their goodwill and kindness. We would especially
like to thank Keith and Caroline May, and the staff at Peter Ott's, for
their overwhelming support and generosity. A BIG thank you to all of those
who participated in the auction! 

The Auction itself was quite successful. We have raised just over $15,000 of
which 100% will be donated directly to The New Orleans Area Habitat for
Humanity St. Bernard Recovery Project. Our idea of holding a fundraiser
started off a small seed planted in our hearts while in New Orleans
volunteering. Upon our return to Maine to continue with our "real" jobs, we
began to think of how best to implement our ideas in order to raise the
funds we knew the St. Bernard community needed. Being complete novices at
fundraising, we took it step by step, and learned a tremendous amount along
the way. The end result was fantastic, yet we do not want our journey to end
here. Through the account we have set up for the St. Bernard Recovery
project our community now has the potential to effect change in so many
people lives. The $15,000 that we raised is more money than all the money
raised for the St. Bernard community yet! As exciting as this is for us, it
is equally distressing. I am including the following information below for
those of you who were unable to make it to the event, and who might like to
hear a bit more about the St. Bernard Recovery Project. If you would like to
make a donation, it is not too late! We are keeping our account open as we
continue to receive donations. 

All 27,000 homes in St. Bernard Parish were flooded following hurricanes
Katrina and Rita, and none of the homes were habitable following the storm.
Many of the homes were under water for 2-3 weeks. In some places the water
was 20 feet high. The flooding in St. Bernard Parish was caused by the
funnel effect of the Army Corps of Engineer's Mississippi River Gulf Outlet
(MR-GO), long protested by residents of St.Bernard, combined with the breech
of the Industrial Canal levee. As the parish is above sea level, and not
considered part of the flood plain, many people did not have home insurance.
Only 10,000 of 67,000 residents have been able to return to St. Bernard. As
we witnessed first hand while in New Orleans, Habitat for Humanity is taking
action. They are working to reduce the debt owed the Parish by gutting the
homes for the home owners. Saving the homeowners a cost of $5,000-7,000. In
addition, they are now buying land from landlords whose rental properties
are going to be demolished and build Habitat homes in their place--ideally
these are adjuncted properties. They are not simply rebuilding homes, but
rebuilding neighborhoods. For more information please contact one of us or
www.habitat-nola.org. Please join Virginia, myself, and all those who
participated at the From Our Bay to The Bayou Auction in helping Habitat for
Humanity to rebuild St. Bernard Parish. All donations are 100% tax
deductible. 

You can either mail a check or phone Virginia Walck or Elizabeth Laurence,
with a credit card number: Elizabeth: (207) 504-6617 Virginia (207)-233-0546

Please make all checks out to: New Orleans Area Habitat For Humanity and
mail to: 
Attn: Habitat For Humanity
Elizabeth Laurence
P.O Box 399
Rockport, Maine 
04856

Take Care and Thank you! 
Elizabeth Laurence and Virginia Walck 
Rockport, ME