OnSite Relief Blog - Volunteer in New Orleans

We find that an important part of our volunteer’s overall experience is to have a chance to meet and speak with the homeowners that they are helping. Hearing first hand stories from these families provides our volunteers with a personal connection that makes the work they do more fulfilling.

Below: Our volunteers get the chance to speak with Dorothy and Lyndon Guidry.

Below: Lyndon Guidry tells our group about what
his family went through following Hurricane Katrina

Below: Jennifer, Cristina and Emma soak up somes rays just after lunch.

Below: Our UCONN volunteers get a chance to to hear Ms. Carolyn Parker’s story.

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The last 2 weeks in March our volunteers worked on finishing the siding at the Guidry’s house in the Lower 9th Ward. A few of them had experience while most had none. They soon found out that siding is not that difficult once you get the hang of it. Great work everyone! The Guidry’s were very pleased.

The 2 photos below are from the frame around the back doorway before it got trimmed. Cristina and Jennifer worked so hard and got to know the Guidry’s enough that they felt the need to leave something behind.

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From time to time we show up with some crawfish for our volunteers to try.

Below: Mr. Guidry shows our UCONN volunteers how he eats crawfish. First you seperate the tail from the head. Then you suck out the head…that’s where all the flavor’s at! Then you pull the meat out of the tail. They’re spicy but once you start you can’t stop.

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Mid-week when the weather cooperated OnSite volunteers began to put siding on the Guidry’s house.

Below: Genevieve gives a brief lesson on siding.

Cristina does a perfect job at trimming the back doors.

Cristina and Jennifer start the siding on the back of the house.

Jennifer steps back to admire her first siding job. Great work!

A few of our UCONN volunteers try their hands at trimming the windows.

Lyndon Guidry looks on in amazement as “the girls” do a great job with the siding.

Ta Da!! Having only handled a hammer a few times these UCONN volunteers
tackle siding like pros. Who would have known they weren’t professionals?

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Our large group of volunteers from the University of Connecticut worked on various projects throughout their week with OnSite Relief. Some of these jobs included removing and rebuilding a roof, gutting and clearing homes, and assisting Reaping The Harvest clear a space for restoration.

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Throughout the week of March 10th-14th our UCONN volunteers worked with Cross Roads Missions and Lower Nine clearing lawns and whole neighborhoods. Removing debris and mowing lawns not only helps the residents who are getting fined for having their yards overgrown, but those who have returned by making their streets clean. It gives a sense of pride to a community struggling to come back.

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On Monday, March 10th we started the week with 54 volunteers from the University of Connecticut, their bus driver Darryl, and 4 live-in volunteers (Emma, Nick, Cristina and Jennifer). We put about a dozen of them to work at the Guidry’s house mudding and sanding the sheet rock.

Danielle and Nicole helped us out by measuring the rooms to determine
how many square feet of tile we will need. They had some fun with it too!

With only a cell phone as a calculator they took to totalling their measurements.

Once the walls were smooth enough we mixed some “orange peel” texture.

We then sprayed the texture on the walls and ceilings.

When the texture was dry we primed and painted the walls.

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On Saturday, March 8th OnSite joined the crew of Extreme Makeover Home Edition in New Orleans. The show was rebuilding both a house and a church in the city. As there were no cameras allowed on set the only proof we have of our work is our t-shirts!

And yes, everyone goes crazy for Ty!

Really tight security around the set.

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