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28th Annual Families
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2008 Community Service Project
“Free Afternoon” ~ 2-5 pm ~ Friday, February 29
Following in the footsteps of what’s become somewhat of a recent tradition for the Conference on Families and Health, we will offer conference attendees an opportunity to “give back” to the city hosting our conference. This is a particularly poignant option given our setting in New Orleans, where the recovery efforts from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina are an ongoing need. While some of our members may have made it to New Orleans in the immediate aftermath of the storm to assist in care provision and/or recovery efforts, this community service project will allow all of us to contribute personally to a specific local project.
When we asked our “local resource expert,” Dr. Rick Streiffer, Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at Tulane, “What would be a good organization to link with to accomplish a useful community service project?”, his response was immediate: “City Park!” One of the oldest and largest urban parks in the country, it is a gem of a resource in the heart of downtown New Orleans which has contributed to the charm and sense of community in the city for over 150 years (www.neworleanscitypark.com). Hurricane Katrina flooded 90% of the park under between one and eight feet of water, causing extensive damage to the grounds, trees, buildings, and infrastructure of the park. The replanting, rebuilding, and restoration projects have been extensive, ongoing, and are far from complete. Visit neworleanscitypark.com/katrina/2year.pdf for a description of the post-Katrina recovery efforts and progress. The park personnel highly value the assistance that groups of volunteers such as ours, make by bringing big projects to completion faster than small teams and individuals can accomplish.
Working side-by-side with our STFM colleagues (and hopefully with medical students from the Family Medicine Interest Groups at the New Orleans-based medical schools), under the direction of the City Park’s Volunteer Coordinator, we will tackle their next group project - The old Casino Building - a historic and beautiful building which sustained over $500,000 damage in the storm, is nearing completion of its repairs, but needs a fresh coat of paint. With many hands, we can make quick work of painting walls (interior and exterior), overhangs, railings, etc. to prepare the Casino Building to resume its roles as a central resource within the park.
Make plans now to join in on the painting party!
PROJECT LOGISTICS:
* Project will run 2– 5 pm on Friday, February 29 (last conference session ends at 12:30 pm) - Transportation will be provided to/from project; Bus will leave the hotel at 1:30 pm.
* Suggested donation to cover project supplies (tax-deductible): $15 per person. - Make check payable to: “Friends of City Park” (Additional donations also accepted. The Park Project can always put more of your tax-deductible contributions to good use for ongoing projects!)
* Bring your old “painting” clothes, as well as some closed-toe shoes to wear during the project.