New Orleans Neighborhoods Partnership Network

Help your community
Gain valuable leadership experience
Develop professional skills

HandsOn New Orleans is seeking motivated, responsible, and goal-orientated individuals to join the Volunteer Leader Program.

Volunteer Leaders are volunteers who make a commitment to help manage a volunteer project. These individuals help us mobilize thousands of volunteers every year, and address any number of community issues including homelessness, hunger, animal rescue, disaster recovery, environmental protection and more.

This is a great way to give back, while gaining valuable leadership experience and professional skills in the areas of management, marketing and recruitment.

Time Commitment:
The time requirement for Volunteer Leaders is very flexible – you can volunteer once a week, once a month, or a few times a year. It all depends on your schedule and how much time you want to commit as a Volunteer Leader.

Primary Responsibilities:
• Serve as the primary point of contact for volunteers attending the project
• Answer volunteer questions leading up to each project date
• Recruit volunteers for project as needed
• Attend the project to make sure everything runs smoothly
• Orient new volunteers to HandsOn and the volunteer project
• Report volunteer attendance after each project
• Act as the liaison between HandsOn staff, our volunteer base and our non-profit partners

Benefits:
• Work with great people and help your community
• Earn internship credit for school
• Receive free leadership and volunteer management training
• Become a part of a community of local leaders who take action to solve community problems
• Gain valuable leadership experience and job skills

To Apply:
Send a letter of interest to Lindsay Nash, Volunteer Coordiantor at HandsOn New Orleans. Include why you are interested in the Volunteer Leader Program, a little about your volunteer history, and any community issues you are passionate about addressing through service.

Contact Information:

504-483-7041 ext. 107

The neighborhoods of Pines Village, Rosedale, and Melia Subdivisions are working together to bring back Digby’s Park. We are looking for volunteers, organizations and corporations to help us to restore the Park. We are looking for donations to buy supplies such as uniforms, sports equipment, tools and other essential supplies to maintain the Park.

For more information or questions, please contact Cheryl Diggins at or call at 504.715.1217

If you would like to donate to our fundraiser via PayPal, please click the button below and help up make Digby’s Park beautiful!

Global Green USA is proud to partner with the AIA, New Orleans Chapter and the USGBC-Louisiana Chapter for our monthly panel series on issues of sustainability in the built environment. Please note change from our usual date.
The Oil Spill in the Gulf and Our Community Response

We will be devoting this month’s panel to the collective response to the Deepwater Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico – to discuss strategies as we mobilize, organize and promote training opportunities for volunteers and paid workers who wish to join the efforts to save our coastal communities, wetlands, and way of life.

Please join us for this important evening as we come together as a community with agency, organizational and community representatives to discuss current and future action plans in response to this man-made and avoidable disaster – how we’ll clean up the mess in the coming weeks, and how we can protect our environment for the future.

Wednesday, May 26th
5:30pm to 7:30 pm
Green Building Resource Center
841 Carondelet Street
New Orleans, LA
Global Green events are free and open to the public. Light organic refreshment served at 5:30pm, meeting begins at 6pm.

Warm thanks to our good friends at Whole Foods Market and Atchafalaya Restaurant for their very generous support.

For updated information on this and archived past panel discussions, please see our Global Green website here: http://globalgreen.org/events/13 or contact Heidi Jensen at our Green Building Resource Center:
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Recently, the Lafitte Senior Center welcomed the following new members: Loretta LaFrance, Eileen Calegan, Cheryl Thompson, Jack Thompson, Dale Lindsey and Marion Bourg.

The Lafitte Senior Center is also a RSVP volunteer station, which is a part of the national Senior Corps retired/senior volunteer program associated with AmeriCorps. To become a RSVP volunteer in Lafitte, contact the center at Dorothy Wiseman, center supervisor at 504-689-4403 and Amber Martinez, RSVP clerk at 504-736-6165 and email at .

For the month of May, the Lafitte Senior Center has named Jules Caulfield as the center’s volunteer of the month. The center’s staff said Caulfield’s extra efforts are greatly appreciated by every member. Congratulations Jules for a job well done!
Lafitte Senior Center is also a RSVP volunteer station, which is a part of the national Senior Corps retired/senior volunteer program associated with AmeriCorps. To become a RSVP volunteer in Lafitte, contact the center at Dorothy Wiseman, center supervisor at 504-689-4403 and Amber Martinez, RSVP clerk at 504-736-6165 and email at .

It takes many people to plan activities at a community center. If you feel you can help or would enjoy donating your time, please visit our center. Volunteers are always needed. Lafitte Senior Center is also a RSVP volunteer station, which is a part of the national Senior Corps retired/senior volunteer program associated with AmeriCorps. To become a RSVP volunteer in Lafitte, contact the center at Dorothy Wiseman, center supervisor at 504-689-4403 and Amber Martinez, RSVP clerk at 504-736-6165 and email at .

Operation REACH, Inc is a non-profit community education corporation dedicated to providing high-quality educational opportunities for youth and their families. Our programs are designed to foster life-long learning and personal success in the areas of work, recreation and community service.

Operation REACH is currently seeking individuals to contribute to its Gulfsouth Summer Youth Action Camps (GSYAC), as Camp Directors, Instructors and AmeriCorps Teacher-Counselors, in summer camps in New Orleans, LA; Birmingham, AL; and Atlanta, GA. The GSYAC is a specialty service-learning camp designed to engage 400 urban middle school youth in meaningful service-learning activities. The GSYAC is a six-week, intensive, holistic, cutting-edge youth leadership and service-learning program for disadvantaged students entering grades 6–9 that focuses on social justice, youth empowerment, community diversity, and service-learning.

Camp Directors provide daily supervision of camp activities and operations in each community, while instructors and AmeriCorps members promote and facilitate service-learning and youth leadership activities for youth attending the camps.

Ideal candidates are hard-working, motivated, has experience with disadvantaged youth, instruction, and service-learning and possess a minimum of a bachelor’s degree or is enrolled in a degree-seeking institution.

To apply, visit http://www.operationreach.org and click on the Careers tab.

Locations: New Orleans, LA; Birmingham, AL; Atlanta, GA.

Compensation: Dependent upon experience. All positions are seasonal.

The Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) enables volunteers age 55 and over to contribute their time, experience, knowledge and interests to others in the community. We are dedicated to helping seniors retain useful roles after retirement.

Who can be an RSVP volunteer?

Anyone who is 55 years or over and who wants to volunteer can join RSVP.

What do RSVP volunteers do?

Some of our more common positions are gift shop clerk, meals delivery, receptionist and patient escort.

How often and how long do I have to volunteer?

The length of commitment and the number of hours vary with the assignments. It is usually established by the place where you work. For our part, we only
require that you volunteer one hour every three months. Specific stations may require more.

Where do RSVP volunteers work?

RSVP maintains agreements with social services agencies, health care institutions, senior and community centers to accept RSVP volunteers. These sites are located throughout the parish.

How do I find a volunteer position with RSVP?

Many of our new volunteers come to us knowing exactly where they want to work and what they want to do. If you don’t know, RSVP will assist you in finding a placement based on your interests, experience, where you live and your schedule.

Can I volunteer at more than one place?

Yes. Many volunteers do.

Can I change the place where I volunteer?

Yes. Just let our office know you’d like to make a change.
Recognition

RSVP volunteers are invited to attend the annual luncheon celebration each year. Usually this is held in the fall.

RSVP Meals Reimbursement Request
Request need to be submitted by the 5th of the month to your volunteer station
supervisor. If the Volunteer Station Supervisor submits documentation to the RSVP Coordinator by the 15th of the month they will get paid by the 30th of the month.

THE BEST AGE IS THE AGE YOU ARE.

The Jefferson Community Action Programs (JeffCAP) does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, or age. For more information, contact JeffCAP RSVP at (504) 736-6165 and email .

Project Sprout, has an opportunity to win $25,000 that would go towards removing blight in New Orleans neighborhoods. GTECH Strategies, a partner in Project Sprout, is involved in the Pepsi Refresh project, an online voting platform whereby Pepsi is giving away $1.3 million per month to social enterprises. Right now, GTECH stands to win $50,000 in February if they can move up at least 4 spots in the rankings (they are currently ranked 14th and the top 10 get funding), and half of this money would come to New Orleans in support of Project Sprout.

Project Sprout is a joint-venture between two Echoing Green fellows from the class of 2008, Green Coast Enterprises (GCE), a New Orleans-based green real estate company, and GTECH Strategies (GTECH), a vacant land management social enterprise based in Pittsburgh, PA. Project Sprout has adapted GTECH’s innovative and successful model to the unique circumstances of New Orleans, by emphasizing vacant land reclamation and green jobs development. This model is coupled with GCE’s innovative real estate practice to create a joint venture that provides unique solutions for community revitalization.

Help us to transform blighted property throughout NOLA! Your vote can help us get over the edge. Go to the link below (up to once a day through February 28th) and please tell your networks about this project and ask them to vote as well. With your help, we can bring much needed resources to blight removal in New Orleans! Want to vote, just go to the link below.

http://www.refresheverything.com/gtech

http://www.refresheverything.com

The Trumpet Editorial Board meets every other month on a Wednesday morning at 8a.m. at the NPN offices.

Duties:
-Brainstorming on story and theme ideas for future issues of The Trumpet
-Make calls/send e-mails on behalf of The Trumpet Magazine
-Attending and volunteering at Trumpet Release Parties (every other month)
-Editorial oversight for Trumpet Content
-Submitting one piece of content for each issue (either that you write or have someone write)

The ideal candidate should be familiar with or interested in learning about The Trumpet Magazine. Journalism background is a plus but not necessary.

Candidate must be a member of their neighborhood association and that neighborhood association must me a member of NPN for applicant to be considered.

What: Rebuilding Together New Orleans’ Annual October Build Project is a volunteer opportunity exclusively for local organizations, corporations, families and friends to, join hands, pick up a hammer or a paint brush, and make a difference in the lives low income elderly or disabled homeowners.

When: Friday and Saturday, October 2nd, 3rd and 9th, and 10th (with rain dates on the 16th and 17th)

Teams of 10 people or more are encouraged to sign up to participate. Volunteers are asked to provide their own lunch and transportation and must be at least 15 years or older. Each team will self appoint a House Captain, who will take ownership of the project, creating supply lists, overseeing the workscope, and working directly with RTNO House Captains and Construction Managers.

To sign up, contact Rebecca at:

Rebecca Crenshaw
Special Projects Officer
Rebuilding Together New Orleans
923 Tchoupitoulas Street
New Orleans, LA 70130

Fax: 504-636-3072
Please call 504-636-3383 for questions.

While there is no volunteer fee for this event, RTNO welcomes pledges or in-kind donations to utilize in all stages of the rebuilding process. Pledges of any amount are welcome and are used to cover materials, safety equipment, and overhead costs. Valuable in-kind donations include paint supplies, lumber, tile, flooring, hardware, hand tools and power tools, and safety gear. These items represent our most frequently used supplies, which we constantly replenish throughout the year to complete rebuilding projects.

Now is the time to roll up your sleeves and help your neighbors!

*To be included as a project sponsor in media outlets and t-shirts, please sign up by July 31st, 2009

Thanks for your support! Hope to hear from you soon!

On June 11th, LDEQ will host a public hearing asking for public comments regarding the Louisiana Generating proposal. We need to let LDEQ know we don’t want more dirty coal in Louisiana. The Big Cajun II coal plant makes no sense financially or environmentally. Louisiana Generating already sends all of the power generated by Big Cajun II out-of-state, leaving our communities to suffer the health and environmental hazards and their current proposal will only add to these problems.

http://action.sierraclub.org/StopBigCajunII

Louisianans cannot afford to pay the long-term costs of coal emission exposure: mercury poisoning, impaired childhood development, respiratory diseases, contaminated fish, waterways and soil. Louisiana Generating should do what dozens of other utility companies are doing across the country: Invest in energy efficiency programs and renewable sources of energy to meet electricity demands responsibly, instead of investing in an expensive, polluting technology that jeopardizes public health and damages our environment.

Please follow the link to take action, and send a comment to LDEQ telling them you don’t want new coal in Louisiana.
http://action.sierraclub.org/StopBigCajunII

For More Information, Please Contact:
Jordan Macha, 504-861-4837 /

The Phoenix of New Orleans is conducting a survey of properties in Lower Mid City. The purpose of the survey is to track recovery efforts and progress in the area, to gauge the resilience of the neighborhood properties in the case of another hurricane, and to determine how many residents live in the area. Our survey area is over 200 blocks, so we need the help of volunteers from the community. Times available for volunteering are 10 am to 4 pm, Monday through Saturday. If you are interested in helping out, please contact Kevin Dillon at 504-208-4821 or .

A Shared Initiative, Inc. is proud to partner with Ochsner and USA Triathlon to bring the Ironman to New Orleans on April 5, 2009. This race has a rich history, and this will be the inaugural running in New Orleans!

We are in need of more energetic people to come out and help between April 1-5. For more information, and to download the required volunteer forms, please visit:

Ironman Volunteer Sign-up Page

You can also contact our volunteer coordinator, Katie Triplett, at . We look forward to seeing members from the community this weekend!

If you have family, friends or clients currently residing in the Lower 9th Ward, struggling to renovate their home or residents seeking to rebuild in the Lower 9th Ward, please contact NENA at 504-373-6483. Phone interviews are available.

The Mission of the Broadmoor Moishe House (aka MoisheNOLA) is to establish an open, accessible space that serves to complement the young professional Jewish and secular communities. At the core of Moishe NOLA is a charge to spark meaningful relationships, creative expression and social action for the purpose of enhancing the city of New Orleans. Moishe NOLA, the local house supported by the Moishe House nonprofit, has been in New Orleans since May 2008, and was founded by Gill Benedek and Jonathan Graboyes. Working for the Neighborhood Partnership Network (NPN) and the Broadmoor Improvement Association (BIA), respectively, they deliberately chose to establish the Moishe House of New Orleans in the Broadmoor neighborhood, to encourage secular and interfaith community dialogue and to foster the growth of a community center within a diverse and thriving neighborhood.

Description of Internship:
Intern will develop and promote programming for the Broadmoor Moishe House. Programming will focus on an array of local issues such as: hurricane recovery/rebuilding, New Orleans politics, the restoration of the Jewish community in the Broadmoor neighborhood/greater New Orleans, and social events for the Moishe House network. Intern will work to complete a 2-3 month independent project/study. Potential projects may include: sponsoring the rebuild of a Broadmoor home, a series of programs highlighting issues in New Orleans politics and policy, Jewish history in New Orleans and the post-Katrina efforts to revive the Jewish community, public relations and marketing, Moishe House New Orleans sustainability study. The New Orleans Moishe House sponsors 5-7 events per month. In addition to completing an independent project, expected outcomes include: event planning and promotion of regular monthly events (i.e. service Moishe House New Orleans projects, Shabbat dinners, social events, etc…) a complete schedule for a 6 month calendar of upcoming events, and regular contributions to the MoisheNola blog.

To Apply email or visit Broadmoor Internships

Rebuilding Together is trying to promote local volunteerism in the community. New Orleanians working to rebuild their city! One weekend a month is set aside for volunteer groups from the Greater New Orleans Area. The workdays are Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Sign up for one day or the whole weekend! There is no fee for local groups.

The following weekends are set aside for local volunteer builds:

To volunteer, please contact Caitlin Metzguer at or 504.636.3076

For the past twenty years, Rebuilding Together New Orleans (formerly “ Christmas in October”) has worked with local community partners to provide home renovations for low-income elderly and disabled homeowners.

Weekend 1: Friday, October 3, Saturday, October 4
Weekend 2: Friday, October 10, Saturday October 11

Contact Sean Vissar, (504) 636-3076,

Montly outdoor Market promoting Local Farmers, Healthy Foods and Natural Products.

We are interested in looking for volunteers to assist with our youth programs. Call Janet Tobias at (504) 427-7969 or email or

The residents of Rosedale Subdivision are committed to revitalize our community. We need assistance to create a plan of action and volunteers to help with basic neighborhood clean up. Please feel free to contact Linda at or 504-244-8520.

Our volunteers participate as ESL classroom instructors. They are responsible for leading all classroom activities for their assigned class, following a curriculum provided by HACS, but will also need to spend time planning and organizing their own lessons. Instructors should be able to maintain order in the classroom, make the class educational, and create an enjoyable atmosphere. They are required to attend a Teacher Training at the beginning of the semester where they will be introduced to HACS classroom and lesson planning best practices. Teachers should be energetic during class and committed to the program for the entire semester with as few absences as possible. ESL Teachers at the Tulane and Esperanza Sites will have Teaching Assistants from a Tulane Latin-American Studies class.

For more information or to apply please email .

If you love music, sign up now to volunteer for the 10th Annual Satchmo Club Strut. Give us three hours of your time in return for free admission to the Strut! Email to sign-up. Check out our web site at http://www.nojc.org for more information about New Orleans Jazz Celebration and the 10th Annual Satchmo Club Strut.