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2017 in Review

Finished house.

January

2016 was a year of preparation for NOAHH, in many ways. The affiliate spent the year planning for the big events of 2017, and all of that hard work–made possible by your support–paid off.

Our first AmeriCorps NCCC of the year arrived in January, and before the end of the year, they would travel the country, help with disaster relief efforts, and one of their members would return to NOAHH in the summer to become an AmeriCorps Construction Crew Leader.


February

February saw a major donation from the Orgill Dealer’s Market at the Convention Center. The donation raised enough money through goods sold in our ReStore to fund several homes!

NOAHH helped homeowners struck by the February 2017 tornado in New Orleans East repair their homes, continuing our tradition of aiding those in need of disaster relief.

Homeowner Latoya Lee was the first to celebrate the completion of her home with a dedication in 2017. Here, her son poses with the key to their home.

Volunteers from Freddie Mac joined NOAHH in the Lower Ninth Ward to help build homes and clear litter and brush in the area for an Attack the Block event. They also second lined to their work sites, led by NOAHH homeowners Marty and Reid.

The first of the rental doubles built in partnership with NORA was begun in February, kicking off the start of the building of 100 rental and single-family-owned units in the Lower Ninth.


March

Alternative Spring Break began in May. Over 2,700 volunteers joined NOAHH on their spring breaks, coming from all over the country.

Shantell Davis celebrated the dedication of her home in March with a crowd of spring break volunteers, family, and staff around her.

NOAHH completed 33 ABWK projects this year, helping preserve homes and communities through repair and maintenance support.

Drew Brees joined volunteers and partner family Shanell Williams on site for the Marriott Day of Service at the end of March, helping to build and stopping for pictures with the family.


April

NOAHH’s Habitat Urban Gardens program continued in 2017 with 11 garden partners on 26 lots in the city.

Alternative Spring Break began to wind down in April, and by the end of it, student volunteers had worked on 16 homes throughout the city.

Lila Ellsworth’s journey to homeownership was an emotional one, and it culminated with her dedication, a day of joy.

After ten months of hard work, Whitney Jett completed her journey to homeownership and celebrated the dedication of her home in April. Her story unfolded for a few months after that, as told here.


May

McGehee School continued their service learning partnership with NOAHH, coming out to help build and work on repair projects in the city.

Three homes were dedicated on Jourdan Avenue for Marty Peters, Reid Poole, and Scott and Indigo Moersen, starting a small Habitat community on a vibrant corner of the city.

Women Build 2017 was the culmination of over a year of hard work from NOAHH partner families, staff, volunteers, board members, and supporters. Over 500 women helped to build and fund Monica Grandpre’s home in New Orleans East at the first annual all-woman blitz build. It was highlighted with Surprise and Delight every day of the build, and in the end, Monica and her family celebrated their new, safe, affordable home.


June

Our Habitat Young Professionals group went out to site to work with the Young Leadership Council in June. Habitat Young Professionals brings locals together to network, learn new skills, have fun, and give back.

Lafarge has supported NOAHH for many years, including as part of the 2015 Habitat AmeriCorps Build-A-Thon. This year, they came out to help work on a home in Kenner, bringing their team to help build the floor system.

The Summer Volunteer Challenge brought in new volunteers as we asked local volunteers to get sweaty in the New Orleans heat while giving back


July

World famous musician Dave Matthews, whose support helped in the building of Musicians’ Village, stopped by the NOAHH offices for a visit while in town.

Locals from Ochsner joined NOAHH on site and in the ReStore throughout the year. The local hospitals encourage employees to take time to give back, and many choose to help in the ReStore, where NOAHH sells donated materials at affordable prices to raise funds for our programs.

Volunteers from Give Back Beyond Cincinnati and Crossroads Cincinnati joined NOAHH again on their annual summer volunteer trip.

NOAHH said goodbye to the 2016-17 class of AmeriCorps in July after an amazing year of service.


August

August saw the new 2017-18 class of AmeriCorps join NOAHH, immediately jumping into building homes throughout the city. Nearly 200 AmeriCorps have served with NOAHH since the program began.


September

Trumpet sensation Spencer Ludwig and local Chef Alon Shaya joined NOAHH for our third Songs From the Heart concert. The show took place at a private home in New Orleans and saw an amazing crowd together for Ludwig’s incredible live show.

Mt. Carmel Academy continued their more than 20 years of partnership with NOAHH, doing community service and service learning on site and in the ReStore.


October

Cintas brought a surprise donation of work boots for our construction team.

RHINO’s partnership with NOAHH began in 2005. RHINO volunteers have been here through the toughest of times, helping to build Musicians’ Village, Ferry Place, America Street, and more. They continued being a major part of our volunteers this year as well, building in the Lower Ninth and other parts of the city.

Unity Build 2017 brought together 11 congregations to help build a home for Nicole Pujol in New Orleans East. Hundreds of volunteers came together to build her home and make new connections in the community. The build took 12 days, and, despite some bad weather early on, saw Nicole’s home completed by the end of the month. We’re looking forward to Unity Build 2019!


November

GE Digital brought their offices out to volunteer again this year, their fourth year in a row. GE Digital has become a great partner and friend to the affiliate since their first build in 2014, joining us also for Women Build 2017.

Our old friends from Cotton, Inc. and our new friends from Madewell came out to site. Cotton has been a partner of NOAHH’s since Hurricane Katrina, providing materials through their Blue Jeans Go Green program.


December

The Newcomb Sig Delts known as the “Dirty Dozen” returned for another volunteer week this year, building in the Lower Ninth and making new friends on site.

In all, 2017 was a year of major events and partnerships, whether new or continuing, with 30 new homes completed and 63 families served. 2018 will see our second annual Women Build, the completion of our second ReStore, and many new homes built. Thank you all for making this possible.

 

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