[StBernard] St. Bernard Gives Back offers 'sweets and treats'

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Gives Back offers 'sweets and treats'

Published: Thursday, March 08, 2012, 7:15 AM

 By Jamie Landry Zimmer 

St. Bernard Parish residents are known for taking care of others, and the
newly formed nonprofit organization, St. Bernard Gives Back, will provide
them with an outlet to do just that this weekend when it hosts its first
Sweets and Treats Tasting Gala.

The event, set for Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m. at the home of Sylvia Guillot,
3008 Bayou Road in St. Bernard community, will feature an array of delicious
desserts and hor d'oeuvres, and live music by French musician Norbert Slama.
As guests meander around the breathtaking grounds of Guillot's estate, they
will be able to satisfy their sweet tooth and view antique cars displayed by
members of the Antique Auto Club of St. Bernard. There also will be a parade
of prizes, and champagne will be sold by the glass.

Tickets for the gala are $20 per person, and are available in advance by
calling Faith Moran at 504.278.4242 or 504.450.5809, or stopping by the St.
Bernard Visitor's Center, 409 Aycock St., Arabi. Tickets also can be
purchased at the door.

Formed in May 2011 by Susan Tedesco Ross, St. Bernard Gives Back has donated
more than $8,000 in disaster relief to more than 80 families since its
inception.

A few weeks after Hurricane Katrina flooded St. Bernard Parish, Ross was at
her home on Mehle Avenue in Arabi, which had been built three months earlier
but was then filled with mud and mildew.

"I was there by myself, and it was the most lonely feeling I've ever had,"
Ross said. "Everything outside was gray, and there wasn't a bird in the sky.
No one else was around."

Stunned and trying to decide what she would do next, Ross said she heard a
car horn blowing. Outside, she saw a group of church volunteers who were
passing out cold bottles of water and sandwiches.

Ross said the encouragement she received that day led her to help form St.
Bernard Gives Back with the intention of being able to assist others in
their time of need, just as those volunteers had encouraged her.

Ross, along with other club officers - Nora Egan, Carolyn Little, Dorothy
Kattengill, John Gebbia, John Jeffries and Kathleen Gebbia - helped tornado
victims in the Sun and Bush areas and many Lafitte residents affected by
Tropical Storm Lee by providing them with gift cards and hot meals.

"They were so grateful," said Egan, vice chairwoman and fundraising
committee chairwoman. "I tear up still thinking about those times. I still
remember that feeling for us after Katrina."

Egan said their goal is to help anyone in need affected by disaster,
"especially those close to home."

"In all of my years of helping others, this is the most heartwarming
volunteer work I have ever done," Egan said.

To make a donation to St. Bernard Gives Back, call Egan at 504.342.2445.
Checks made payable to St. Bernard Gives Back can be mailed to 2 Carolyn
Court, Arabi, LA 70032.

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