June Friday Schedule

1^st - Service Project

            ARISE Academy Art Festival

8^th- Professional Development

            Training Social Entrepreneurship

15^th- Documentary Series

            The Interrupters

22- Professional Development

            Funding Seed- Nora Elltersen

29- Leadership

TBA

Field Report: Evacuteer.org

 

I live on a construction site. Okay, so not really on the site, but pretty darn close. The Loyola Avenue streetcar project is happening right outside my window. The drilling, the buzzing, the orange vests. Anyone who’s anyone in New Orleans knows the sounds. The music. The sirens. The construction. They are part of that NOLA city swagger; the soundtrack to my life. Like any good soundtrack, the music goes unnoticed during my daily activities. There’s no sweltering bravado that heightens the tension or stress of my life, at least not that I notice.

But every now and then, a viewer reminds me that there’s music playing.

I was looking for the City Assisted Evacuation Plan sign at the Municipal Auditorium in Louis Armstrong Park last week when I met Kenny. At the time, I was incredibly frustrated. I had been looking for the indiscriminate sign for over twenty minutes with no luck. To be honest, I should have known that the task would be time-consuming. I had to been warned. In fact, I had been working on securing grant money to fund evacuteer.org‘s public art project that is going to make the spots more visible. I had been reading report after report about the “ill-marked pick up points” and how the “signs go unnoticed by the very individuals who will utilize the plan in a mandatory evacuation”.

I do not know how much more warning I needed, but I decided that I needed to find one of those signs myself. After five years of living in New Orleans, without a car even, I have never seen an evacuation pick up sign in real life. I had heard of their existence. I knew they had to be out there somewhere…

So off I went. Determined. Dedicated and Enthusiastic. About midway through my journey, I felt beaten. I wasn’t going to find this thing. I scoured all over the Municipal Auditorium where my pamphlet assured me it would be. I walked up and down the parking lot, looking around the Treme neighborhood trying to identify every sign. I thought maybe it would be near a bus stop right outside the gates of the Municipal Auditorium – no such luck. I tried to trace a path that I was certain evacuees would take to arrive at the Municipal Auditorium. I thought the shade of the auditorium would be a great area for registration and to help families gather together before heading off on an RTA bus to the Union Passenger Terminal. Yeah, nice try.

After twenty minutes of wandering the black asphalt desert of the Municipal Auditorium parking lot, Kenny showed up. He had seen my rendition of a lost girl and offered to help me find my sign. With his help, we retraced my steps. His fresh eyes assured me that I was not crazy. There was no sign around the Municipal Auditorium. Let’s check the front of the park. As we walked to the front of the park, we traded small talk. Where are you from? Why are you looking for the signs?

We continued walking to the front of the park. Suddenly, I could hear drums. They started quietly at first – just a low drone of a beat. But as we turned the corner, the rhythm intensified. The clanging of a cowbell, the quake of steel drums, and thump of wooden ones. The sound pounded; it fluttered; it pulsed.

Our conversation was lost. We stood watching the band’s smiling faces sway to the tempo of their creation. As I stood listening, it occurred to me –

“Did you hear this music from the Municipal Auditorium?” I asked Kenny.

“Yeah. You can hear it from a couple blocks away.”

I hadn’t heard it. I had been too distracted; I was too focused on finding that sign. In my frustration, I had almost missed out.

I spent the rest of the afternoon sitting with Kenny and a small tourist group from Virginia listening to the band in Congo Square. As the band wrapped up their impromptu performance, Kenny and I continued to walk out towards the front of the park. As I watched him cross the street to head off towards the French Quarter, I waved goodbye and began to head back from where I came.

Then I saw it. Hidden underneath the foliage, stood the plain, poorly-marked sign. I snapped my picture, and stood smiling at the frustrating sign. I now certainly understood the importance of making the evacuation pick up point signs more visible. There was no denying that. But I could not help but think how different my afternoon had turned out to be. The relief I was certain I would feel once I discovered the sign never came. I already felt at ease; I was already relaxed. The sign only added to my triumph.

So thanks, Kenny, for making sure I heard the music.

 

 

 

-Courtni Blackstone, Tulane CPS AmeriCorps VISTA, Evacuteer.org

 

Field Report: Samuel J. Green

To celebrate the end of the year at our school, we held our annual Green Fest celebration. All of the enrichment classes showed off an artpiece or performed as a culmination of their year’s work. Here’s a video of Mama Baderinwa’s Dance Theater class performing on the topic of the civil rights movement.

 

 

-Paul Kramer, Tulane CPS AmeriCorps VISTA, Firstline Charter School- Samuel J. Green

 

Field Report: Southern Food and Beverage Museum

I started by leading a Kids Pasta Workshop where I taught kids how to make pasta from scratch. We covered our hands in flour and made a nice mini-meal where we learned about how herbs are used to flavor dishes. The summer camp is about to start, so I’ll be doing more of this kind of cooking with kids and I’m excited about it.

 

I took a quick lunch break and then headed over to the building that will be the SoFAB Culinary Library (1609 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.) We got a grant from ServeNola to build 2 raised garden beds. We had a great group of volunteers and were able to clear tons of weeds and complete the first step of creating our garden. Next we’ll be building a compost system!

 

 

 

 

 

-Lucy Rosenbloom, Tulane CPS AmeriCorps VISTA, Southern Food and Beverage Museum

Field Report: Joseph S. Clark

Get up and get down at the First Annual Clark Prep Jam!  The evening will feature performances by Kermit Ruffins and the Barbeque Swingers, TBC Brass Band, Gaynielle Neville and many more!   Sweet Lorraine’s will also be dishing up lots of FREE delicious food.  Patrons will have the opportunity to bid on artwork from notable Clark alumni Bruce Davenport and Gus Bennett in a silent auction.  All proceeds from this fundraiser will benefit arts and athletics programs at Clark.

• When: June 8th, 2012 8pm-1am
• Where: Sweet Lorraine’s Jazz Club (1931 Saint Claude Ave  New Orleans, LA 70116)
• Tickets: $20.  Available for purchase at Clarkprep.org and from Clark Prep High School (1301 N Derbigny St. 70116)

 

-Mike Jayes, Tulane CPS AmeriCorps VISTA, Joseph S. Clark High School, Firstline Charter Schools

Field Report: Youth Rebuilding New Orleans

 

After volunteering with Green Light New Orleans last Friday, I have another perspective to view my VISTA year from.  Driving through the city in our small groups off 3-5, we replaced old incandescent light bulbs with new, energy-efficient Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFL’s).

This experience (much like nearly all others, nowadays) made me reflect on the past ten months of my life, and my VISTA placements, as well as how they have taught me lessons I wouldn’t have expected to learn.

• Working at the Latino Farmer’s Cooperative of Louisiana taught me several valuable things:
  • It also taught me that I’m (somehow) a better salesman in my faltering Spanish than I am in English, though this is possibly a result of the ‘pity sell.’  Results only relevant with cheesecakes.
  • I learned the importance of perseverance, but more importantly I learned when not to be stoic about situations, and how to stand up for myself.
  • I learned, possibly most importantly, that nothing forges a strong friendship faster than shared adversity.
• Working with other VISTAs, I’ve learned more about different personalities and how they interact.
  • Through Ben’s training seminars I’ve come to appreciate the traditional Myers Briggs test (INTJ, all the way!), and I’ve been introduced to new methods of thinking about relationships such as the Leadership Compass, which has helped me to think about different relationships.
• Working at Youth Rebuilding New Orleans has taught me much as well:
  • I’ve learned how to engage volunteers who didn’t want to be there, and how to provide more experiences for those who loved the work.
  • I’ve refreshed my knowledge about how to maintain a home, from simply replacing a pane of glass in a window to sheetrocking and installing laminate flooring.
  • I’ve also honed my grant writing skills to a more exact science, and seen how they should be properly used to augment an organization.
  • I’ve also seen more abstract things, such as how employees work harder and with more innovation if these things were positively encouraged.  Worker satisfaction and mutual respect go a long ways.

Overall, as I enter my last full month of VISTA service, I can see that I’ve been pretty lucky. Some things have gone wrong, others have been difficult, but everything has led me to this point.  As the end of my term (and the start of medical school) approach on the horizon, I can only feel glad that I took this year to give back to New Orleans.

 

-Brian Templet, Tulane CPS AmeriCorps VISTA, Youth Rebuilding New Orleans

 

Field Report: Puentes New Orleans

May Field Report: Puentes New Orleans

I am officially at the half way point of my service. This past month has gone by so quickly. I only realize that when it is time to write another blog post and I wonder where the time has gone. I have been moderately busy at work. The Tulane Service Learners finished up their work and I’ve been printing out the flyers and research papers that they produced so I can add these things to the sustainability binder. I get some satisfaction from this and am in the process of updating the contact info and project descriptions as well. The newsletter is also keeping me busy seeing as our service learner is not doing the “Featured Latino” section anymore. I get to interview people again and write up my on articles and make my own relationships with them, it is fun and I forgot that I enjoyed the interview/write up process so much.

On a more personal note, my parents, Christina and David, are coming in from Minneapolis on a train tomorrow. So, a little bit of home will be here with me in New Orleans for a week. This is a much welcomed visit, I do miss home and I am looking forward to eating well for the next week and trying out some restaurants that I have had my eye on.

Will update more next month!

Thanks!

Coming up with Puentes:

Puentes’ Home Buyer class

Owning a home is one of the most important investments of a lifetime. We will teach you how to buy your house from start to finish. We promise to provide you with the best service possible and to help make your dream a reality. We will meet for 3 hours every Tuesday from May 15th – June 5th starting at 6pm.  Classes are in Spanish and we ask for $40 per person or $55 per pair. Call 504-495-1588 or 504-821-7228 to sign up!

Puentes ofrece el Programa de Compra de Casas
Puentes ofrece cursos en español para aprender cómo comprar una casa y provee consejo de crédito. Le enseñaremos cómo comprar su casa de principio al fin. Prometemos proporcionarle el mejor servicio posible  para ayudarle realizar su sueños y ser dueño de su propia casa. Las clases duran 3 horas todos los martes del 15 de mayo al 5 de junio a partir de las 6pm. Las clases se facilitan en español. El costo de la clase es solo $40 por persona o $55 por el par. ¡Llame 504-495-1588 o 504-821-7228 para inscribirse y/o para más información!

 

 

-Sadira Glendenning, Tulane CPS AmeriCorps VISTA, Puentes New Orleans

 

Field Report: Kedila Family Learning Services

Springtime in Nola means festival time. There are free or cheap festivals almost every week that celebrate the food and culture of New Orleans and Louisiana. One of these is Strawberry festival.  Although I have been living in New Orleans for almost 3 years, I have never made it out to the strawberry festival in Ponchatoula even though I have always wanted to. None of my friends would ever make the commitment. LUCKILY, the lovely friends I have made through AmeriCorps were up for the adventure. So, we drove out to Ponchatoula for the day. We played fair games, rode rides, listened to a kind of crappy country cover band, ate some good food, drank some homemade strawberry daiquiris and of course bought a bunch of strawberries. On the way home we stopped at a biker bar to play pool, which was fun. All in all, it was a great day, and I had a lot of fun.

 

 

-Adrienne Roth, Tulane CPS AmeriCorps VISTA, Kedila Family Learning Services

 

Apply to Be a Tulane AmeriCorps VISTA! – “Hunger is Not a Game”- Meme 1.5

May the odds be ever in your favor!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Field Report: Green Light New Orleans

Lately, I have been working on putting together a brochure for volunteers about what to do when they come to New Orleans. A lot of our volunteers from come from out of town, and they’re always asking us for suggestions of stuff to do in the evenings or on their days off. It’s been really fun to work on, and gave me a chance to think about some of my favorite places around the city. Elizabeth, a photographer friend of Andreas’s came to visit and took some amazing pictures of the places we wrote about. Here is a random sample:

Angelo Brocato’s Italian Ice Cream        $

Brocato’s is a popular pastry and ice cream parlor located conveniently off the Canal streetcar line. Stop in for gelato, coffee, Italian ice, and classic Italian pastries like biscotti, pigniolata, or cannoli.

*214 North Carrollton Avenue, New Orleans, LA  70119

Open: All day

Closed: Monday

Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve              Free

This park consists of six separate sites and a headquarters. One site, the Barataria Preserve in Marrero, Louisiana, has trails and canoe tours through hardwood forests, swamps, and marsh. Barataria was where the legendary pirate Jean Lafitte and others docked their ships and traded pillaged goods. Now, it is a great way to see the beautiful swampland of Louisiana.

*6588 Barataria Boulevard, Marrero, Louisiana  70072

Staff recommendations: Andreas-Coquille Trail

Mississippi River                Free

No trip to New Orleans is complete without spending some time at the Mighty Mississippi. Make sure to check out the houses on the other side of the levee. Those who live in these one-of-a-kind homes are exempt from paying property taxes. You can find them by walking two blocks south of the office to Oak Street, turning right, and walking to the end of the street. For more information about the Mississippi River batture, as they’re called, and the people who live there, read this NPR story: http://www.npr.org/2011/09/17/140553646/on-the-edge-in-mississippi-residents-cling-to-land

 

-Selena Poznak, Tulane CPS AmeriCorps VISTA, Green Light New Orleans