What a Trip!
What a School, and
What an Incredible Group of Volunteers!

IHSNO in the L.E. Rabouin school building is a first-year charter high school serving 9th and 10th grades – with hopes to expand to 11th & 12th in 2011.  The curriculum offers an alternative teaching style when traditional methods are not enough.  Since empowering our youth is of particular interest, we had an immediate connection to the halls, walls, students and staff.  This proved to be a wonderful opportunity to fortify the chances of kids that many had already given up on.

We had four days and here’s what we accomplished:

• Custom-built an 18-ft office reception counter
  
• Painted and restored two 3rd floor hallways
  
• Painted and restored a 3rd floor music room
  
• Filled, patched and painted locker banks on several floors
  
• Cleaned and restored marble base moldings and custom door hardware
  
• Donated new basketball goals for the outdoor basketball courts
  
• Donated a case of basketballs and nets thanks to Chris Duhon of the Orlando Magic and Mike & Gayle Mullins
  
• Assisted in two elementary school carnivals with games and face painting
  
• Delivered paintings supplied by iArtists to Camp Restore.  These paintings are donated to families who are rebuilding their homes and their lives in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina
  

A challenge?  Yes.  A challenge happily met by 23 Global Hope volunteers who rolled up their sleeves and got right to it.  The magic of this hardworking group though, was that work looked like play and music consistently kept rhythm to all of the unique working sounds throughout the building.  Singing, dancing, laughing, and friendly chatter graced the halls and rooms of the school each day.

Our thanks, once again to Keith Kelly of Innovative Communications for creating this video!

At work day’s end, the music and the lively chatter did not stop.  Our happy work team simply loved being together.  We walked to restaurants, listened to the local music – ate the local cuisine.  We tasted New Orleans in every way possible.

The volunteers commitment to excellence was unmistakable.   Under the cheerful leadership of Teri and Kenny, painters, Mary H, Margaret, Marnie, Marjie, Alyson, Doris, Larry H, Patti, Connie, Anna, Sue, Mary D, John D, meticulously covered every surface.  Jimmy and Ron went the extra mile and scraped layers of paint spills off the marble baseboards that lined the hallways.  Aside from painting, Corinne with her indelible smile made sure we had music to work/dance to.  We lost count of how many times Ron traveled back and forth to the airport transporting volunteers – one by one.  Our master carpenters, John E, Jon and Larry S, focused on the reception counter until the last board was applied.  Teddy did a masterful job finishing the “locker walls”.  Michael with his full range of talents was involved in every job.  In addition to painting, Nancy provided overall art direction.  Dickie and Mary oversaw every aspect of the project and so much more.  This team went above and beyond and there was an ecstatic principal and staff at IHSNO to prove it.

Sweat, fatigue, sore muscles, new friends, appreciation and a shared commitment to students who face obstacles in so many different and challenging ways became a rich gumbo of love and compassion and incredible stamina.

The school is proud of its new face.
We are proud of our volunteers.
We are Global Hope – putting “goodwill in motion” loud and strong in New Orleans – once again.

Music Room – Before & After

Locker Holes – Before & After

Hallway – Before & After

Details Taken Care of – Marble Baseboards & Beautiful Doorknobs

Reception Counter – Before and Almost Done!

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The skies were darkening this morning – rain in the forecast. We had to be out of the school by 3 so the cleaning crew could do a thorough cleaning. We got right to it and only took a break to enjoy yet another delicious “school-cooked” southern lunch. Each lunch has made it harder and harder to imagine ever leaving this place!

Dickie and Teri left today. With a much smaller crew, brushes, rollers and every tool imaginable performed their magic. The colorful music room glowed with a beautiful orchestration of alternating colors. The halls, even the marble moldings, previously spattered with years of dripped paint colors, gleamed as they once did so many years before. Locker bank patchwork was inspected and approved. The reception counter wore a fresh coat of stain and polyurethane. Tools were packed away, supplies stored.

At the strike of 3 the school’s first floor was a mass of volunteers and school staff members waving, hugging, smiling and “thanking” (from both) for an exceptional work experience.

A few of us visited Thom Pepper of Common Ground Relief in the Lower Ninth Ward – the site of earlier service trips. After touring, we were touched to see all the new construction and families returning home. You see, we have friends down here and the list just keeps getting longer with each service trip.

The remainder of us will leave throughout the day tomorrow. It will be hard to say goodbye – we love this neighborly city and all of the people we have had the good fortune to meet. We have been proud to breathe life into our name “GLOBAL HOPE” and downright ecstatic to find ourselves in the rhythmic wave of “goodwill in motion“.

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Another sunny, crisp New Orleans morning

Our Team Leader, Teri with Nancy & Corinne

We picked up where we left off.  Looking around, the progress made was evident.  We’ve come to look forward to the morning’s aroma coming from the school’s kitchen.  Today it was the most incredible brisket with all the trimmings.  These “school-cooked Southern lunches will be sorely missed.  The school staff is spoiling us – but you’ll hear no complaints from us.

A visit with Reverend and Julia Adams, one of the day’s highlights, caught a small group of us up to date with some dear friends.  Julia cooked a beautiful late afternoon lunch and we brought leftovers to our diehard workers back at the school.

Breaking bread with Reverend & Julia

At various times during the day we said “goodbye” to several of our hardworking friends – Marjie, Kenny and Margaret and Connie, first, then Mary and Sue who took the “City of New Orleans” round trip.  We have been so fortunate to have had such a large and talented volunteer team this trip.  We were sad to see them go.  And we are beyond grateful for their help.

The halls are finished and they literally sparkle.  A music room got a facelift from many tireless volunteers.  Different paint colors this time but same attention to every detail.

Teddy patching and painting the locker holes

Walking the halls – you’d never know they were once laced with lockers – the patching is flawless.  The reception area now boasts a new gorgeous counter with just a bit more fine-tuning to go and nearly ready for a stain application.

Today, we booked – from supply runs to the day’s final brush strokes and the very last wood cut.  We ended a little later this evening.  With only one day to go – our daily goal was a little more ambitious.

Our stopping point marks tomorrow’s launch into completion.  Bittersweet – and most satisfying.

Ron & Marjie hard at work in the Music room

Mike, Larry & Jon building the reception counter

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