Audubon Society doing Tree Sapling give away at the Village Saturday March 22

Resurrection Project's
Greening of New Orleans
We are giving away FREE TREE saplings
Donated by the Audubon Society

Trees will help:
· Save energy costs
· Help clean our soil and air
· Protect the environment
· Create better habitats for animals

2500 free saplings will be divided up for planting around the area. Stop by and pick up your trees! Bald cypress, maples and oaks will be given away from 10 a.m. to noon
Saturday, March 22 at Lower 9th Ward Village, 1001 Charbonnet St. New Orleans LA 70117.

Elderhostel team does 4 day "magic" at the Village!

We had a very special group from the Elder-

hostel

Organ.

here from March 10-13. The group "fell through the cracks" as far as having a place to work and the Village saw it as "they fell into our hearts" to us. They were 44 members strong and also a group to be reckoned with, that's for sure. Bringing incredible energy, they took the exterior of the building on with full force and then started on the inside. These "senior citizens" were anything but... We went through some 30 gallons of paint on the exterior, 10 gallons of interior paint, 60 bags of mulch and tons of dirt/weeds in the gardens around the building. This picture says it all...the entire exterior of the building was painted, where ever could be reached with a ladder or scaffolding, dirt dug, weeds pulled and mulch put down. That's not even mentioning the inside. What a great group of people. They touched our hearts, that's for sure. One of their members wrote a poem, it's denoted below.

A New Song for New Orleans by Phyllis Stump

A Song For New Orleans

by Phyllis Stump

March 12, 2008

Someone asked me

if I had written a poem

about our work in New Orleans

(and it was only Monday!)

I said, "No, but I'll try."

So here I am,

after dinner on Wednesday

reconstructing the thoughts

that ran through my head

all Tuesday night, such as:

we won't remember everyone's name,

but we won't forget Mack

and his passion for a new-found game,

of giving back to ease the pain

of losing so much.

We won't remember each other's faces

or the dates of the places we passed on the way.

To the sad gray building

where we arrived that day

to discover why we were here.

But we'll remember the myriad shades of green

that turned that tired old structure

into a beacon of light,

where good things could happen to good people.

We won't remember all the facts or the history, 

the architecture, the reasons behind the flood, 

or the difference between upper and lower river,

but we'll remember scraping paint, hammering nails, 

cutting lumber and digging weeds,

accompanied by aching backs, cuts and scrapes,

and just plain tired muscles we didn't know we still had.

We won't remember what or who we didn't take a shine to,

but we'll remember college kids who came to help

from all over, giving up their spring break.

And the people who stopped to say, "Thank You,"

when we were the ones who were thankful,

for the feeling of being one of them, even for a short while.

Six short days ago, we were separate beings,

whirling along on this needy planet, 

now we are a community

and each one of you has become a part of the poem

I'm trying to write. 

T-Shirts for The Lower 9th Ward Village are HERE!!!

T-shirts are available for $10 each. If you want a t-shirt shipped to you, please include $5, $1 for each additional shirt to be shipped (plus the cost of each additional shirt). T-shirts are available in S, M, L and XLG. Go to our main website, www.lower9thwardvillage.org, if you want to pay on line. If you want your t-shirts mailed, make check payable to: Teagras (Village in the memo) and mail your order to: Lower 9th Ward Village, 1001 Charbonnet St., New Orleans, LA 70043. Any questions, please call us at: 504-948-0777. 

We've come a long way baby!

We've come so far! We just received some early pics...back about Sept 07 that depicts just exactly how much this place has shaped up! Here's a pic taken 7 months ago and one taken March 31, 2008. Lower 9th Ward Village growing everyday. Check it out... 

Movie Night at Lower 9th Ward Village!

Beginning March 15th, from 5pm-9pm, we will be having Movie Night! We have 2 projectors. We are looking to have 2 movies going at the same time, in different parts of the building, one for the younger children and one for the older teens/adults. LEEP has partnered with us to begin this feature at the Village. We thank them for the donations of the projectors, movies, popcorn...everything to make Movie Night happen in a big way! The Village especially acknowledges Brandon Hollier, son of Angie Hollier (of LEEP) for his contribution of a DVD projector. Brandon did landscaping jobs to raise the funds to purchase the projector and then chose to give it to the Village. Brandon is a teenager himself and we appreciate his gift of giving to the Village.

Historic Green coming March 8 - 23

Historic Green will be utilizing the space as their headquarters at the Village to host their event March 8-23. There is still an opportunity to register on line. Go to: http://www.historicgreen.org/. The Lower 9th Ward Village is excited to be a part of this great cause. Why attend?

What Historic Green is saying:
Restore, Preserve, Sustain – it all sounds good, we know, but there’s something really special going on here. Get hands-on experience with sustainable design and preservation. Make a difference to families in need. And help us green a historic neighborhood on a scale never attempted before – the nation’s first carbon neutral community.