WHO: Rebuilding Together New Orleans and the Starbucks Coffee Company
WHEN: Monday – Thursday, October 27th-30th
WHAT: As part of their 2008 Leadership Conference, 4,000 Starbucks partners (employees) will be participating in community service projects with Rebuilding Together New Orleans in the Hollygrove and Broadmoor neighborhoods. These events, which will take place October 27th – 30th, are part of a city-wide 10,000 volunteer effort, representing the largest community service project in the history of New Orleans.
“Not only is New Orleans a wonderful host for our conference, but we can also work with its citizens to help rebuild community in this historic and culturally rich city,” said Rodney Hines, Starbucks director of community investments.
Rebuilding Together New Orleans will lead Starbucks partners in scraping and painting the exterior of 31 homes and landscaping and clearing blighted lots. These efforts are managed in partnership with Trinity Christian Community, the Broadmoor Improvement Association, the Carrollton-Hollygrove CDC, and the New Orleans Food and Farm Network. In addition, the volunteers will plant 1000 trees throughout Broadmoor and Hollygrove under the guidance of Hike for KaTREEna.
Starbucks is also providing project support funding to Rebuilding Together New Orleans. “This partnership is a huge sign of progress for both Rebuilding Together and the city as a whole. It shows a commitment on the part of Starbucks to the cultural and economic importance of New Orleans,” says Kristin Gisleson Palmer, Director of Rebuilding Together. “The effects of this partnership will be felt in the long and short term and we are very excited to play such an important role in this project.”
About Rebuilding Together New Orleans
Rebuilding Together New Orleans is a local affiliate of Rebuilding Together which has restored and revitalized more than 100,000 homes over the past 20 years. Utilizing volunteer labor, Rebuilding Together allows low-income families in communities across the country to live in comfort, safety, and dignity.
Rebuilding Together New Orleans is a program of the Preservation Resource Center, an organization devoted to promoting the preservation, restoration, and revitalization of New Orleans’ historic architecture and neighborhoods.
Contacts:
RTNO, Camille Lopez, 504 388-0214
L2 MEDIA, Lynn Long, 504 669-0576
