Groups work for three days - bright orange shirts flood parish

Photo by Karen Turni Bazile: Volunteers from the Delaware-Maryland Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America that included 21 youths and seven adults worked at Torres Park in Chalmette to improve landscaping. Shown from left: Meghan Blodgett, 15; Amanda Kotula, 16; Amy Buettner, 15; and Ashley Peters, 15; all of Mt. Airy, Maryland.

Crystal Wells, director of the St. Bernard Parish Department of Volunteerism, coordinated the volunteers who were here for three days as part of the 2009 Youth Gathering for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. More than 37,000 Lutheran teenagers, adult leaders and other volunteers came to invest in sweat equity, in both their faith and the area impacted by Katrina while they attended the gathering at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and the Louisiana Superdome.

"The effort actually went on for 14 days as the Department of Volunteerism organized volunteers who arrived early in the week and others who stayed longer to help in St. Bernard," Wells said. "We had many people say they want to come back."

St. Bernard Parish President Craig P. Taffaro Jr. said the effort was an overwhelming success.

"We are so grateful to the volunteers for their efforts to help us," Taffaro said. "It was a wonderful experience for the volunteers and the residents they affected. Over 625 cases of water were provided to keep the volunteers hydrated, and we had no injuries or incidents of heat stroke."

Wells said Polly Boudreaux and Emile Pelliteri organized all neighborhood efforts by working months in advance with the neighborhood associations in order to address their most essential needs.

Frank Dowd of Hope Worldwide provided all of the tools, including hundreds of rakes, shovels and wheelbarrows. St. Bernard Parish Government provided nearly 3,000 black trash bags and some assistance from the Public Works Department. Home Depot of Chalmette also provided free trash bags.

Parish Historian Bill Hyland, who also is parish government Director of the Los Islenos Museum Complex, coordinated with officials from St. Bernard Catholic Church to pressure-wash tombs and put a fresh coat of paint on as many as possible with the Los Islenos Heritage and Cultural Society providing materials. District Fire Chief Mike Tregle helped with pressure washing at St. Bernard Cemetery.

Photo by Crystal Wells: Lutheran youth volunteers clean one of the bayous in Yscloskey.

"I wanted the volunteers to participate at the cemeteries that needed help," Wells said. "The volunteers just loved the idea and enjoyed hearing the history of the area. They received many thumbs up from passers-by and everyone offered their gratitude."

Sharon at Sharon's Store in Yscloskey was very helpful with the thousands of volunteers, providing ice and shade and local lore to those who cleaned up Shell Beach, Alluvial City, Yscloskey and Hopedale.

Steve Brandt of Chalmette at Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Chalmette provided a truck, trailer and helped pick up the black bags after the crews finished filling them.

Boudreaux said neighborhoods were given the opportunity to provide clean-up/beautification projects for their specific area and were encouraged to have residents join the volunteers.

Projects included:

• Cleaning overgrown lots from the sidewalk to the street (giving children and walkers a clear path and keeping them out of the street)
  
• Picking up debris and trash to help to sell neighborhoods to prospective buyers from Old Arabi all the way to Shell Beach
  
• Planting oak trees on Judge Perez Drive at the entrance to Lexington and Joe Davies
  
• Landscaping the entrances to Angelique Estates and Jumonville Estates
  
• cleaning and edging along major boulevards in Buccaneer South, Rediscover District C, Lexington and Carolyn Park
  
• Refurbishing Blue Bird Park in Chalmette Vista and the Angelique Estates park
  
• Neighborhood plantings in the Karen Drive neighborhood.
  

"This was a tremendous opportunity to initiate major clean-up across our parish. The energy and enthusiasm of the orange shirted Lutheran Youth and their chaperones was heard, seen and felt as they picked up over 1500 bags full of trash and debris," Boudreaux said. "Neighborhood recovery has taken a giant step forward. And, we hope the efforts over the 3 days in July will serve to inspire our own youth and residents to actively participate in KEEPING ST. BERNARD CLEAN year round. A big thank you to neighborhood leaders who worked alongside the volunteers and who work to inspire their residents each day!"