A place to ... pause your routine, give back, and be grateful.
I was so fortunate to have been able to participate in the One Brick Builds project in New Orleans this spring. Ever since I first heard manager Kate Martin wax poetic about how meaningful her ongoing volunteer experience has been with SBP, I had been eager to join. But I’ve always been too busy. This year, the time was right for my schedule.
I'm no construction whiz and have never built (nor owned) a house, and though I do have some limited experience painting, sanding, and fixing things using a hammer, a nail and a screwdriver, I'd never hung drywall before... and that was our task the week we worked on Avist Martin's home in the New Orleans East neighborhood.
Every morning, when we arrived at the job site, we gathered for ‘get to know you’ icebreakers with our very friendly SBP AmeriCorps supervisors. The gals were fun, helpful, patient and completely understood that we were volunteers for only a week, whereas they were committed to a year of community service. I applaud their dedication to take time out of their ‘normal’ life, for a good cause.
There were a dozen One-Brickers from the Silicon Valley, SF and Boston chapters. We split into teams of 4, dove right in working our way through the various rooms in the house, measuring, cutting, and putting up drywall onto the frames of the house. I think ours was the best group - Go Team JABA! :) But honestly, it didn’t feel at all like competition, instead, we were clearly working together to achieve a common goal. Everyone exhibited a wonderful cooperative team spirit, and pitched in at various stages to help move the big drywall boards around, to clean up, and to secure the space when we left for lunch or at the end of day. I had an incident where I had to be off site for the day, and one of the other team members filled in my spot (JALA!) without a hitch.
The group got along brilliantly. Only a couple of us rented cars and were the drivers for the week: we shared costs and got to know each other as we drove to and from the city for dinners and donuts, beer and rum tasting, to lunch at local restaurants near the worksite, and to an eye-opening tour of the wetlands and the levee that broke back in August 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit. The devastation in the Lower 9th Ward, Chalmette (where we were staying), East Nola, the entire area, is still evident. There are blocks and blocks of overgrown grass and bits of foundation, abandoned streets and walkways where once there were homes and a community. It was heartbreaking driving around.
We were fortunate to meet the homeowner when he popped in each day to check on our progress. And to thank us personally for what we we're doing to help him move back into his home. I simply can't imagine what it would be like to be woken up in the middle of the night, a tornado ripping the roof off over your head... and somehow making it to safety. And then, discovering your insurance doesn’t cover the damage, your house is condemned, and you have to move in with relatives. Again! This disaster was the 2nd time their house was hit: the first time when floods buried their home when the levy broke 11 years earlier. Makes you appreciate the smallest joys and privileges we have in our lives...
I’d highly recommend this trip to anyone considering going. It is a place to make great friendships, spend a week working beside good-hearted One Brick volunteers from across the country, and especially to pause your routine, give back, and be grateful. It’s a great opportunity to get a taste of New Orleans - music, food and colorful characters – without being a typical Bermuda shorts tourist.
Bonnie Z – One Brick Silicon Valley
May 2018
