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!

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“.

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

Halloween in New Orleans

Another gorgeous day. It was pure inspiration to see our volunteers confidently and enthusiastically get right to work where it was needed most. Music held the playful pace today. Lots of laughter – lots of hard work.

Another New Orleans memory made – this time the school staff fed us a Seafood Gumbo whose aroma had been wafting through the school halls all morning. Words cannot describe.

WOW, we did a lot today! The final third floor hallway is mere brushstrokes from completion. The locker spaces are patched and ready for priming. The reception counter has a face . . . and a magnificient face at that.

How fulfilling it is to witness the new life these walls and halls reflect and to see a counter emerge out of pieces of wood. The transformation is happening so rapidly right before our eyes – like time-lapsed photography.

The principal, Mr. Amato, shared a few words with us before leaving tonight. There were tears in his eyes as he expressed his gratitude and shared his new-found optimism for what he has always felt this school had to offer. “This building has had so many challenges and after observing the heart, soul and hard work your volunteer team has shown, for the first time I am smiling as I walk these halls.”  Click here to hear what Mr. Amato shared with us about the L.E. Rabouin  School Building.

We were touched as we filed into our vans.

A little Halloween nightlife fun

Quick morning meeting

20+ volunteers were off and running early this morning.

We welcomed our friend, Larry from Oklahoma, who came back to join us.   Brushes, tape, scrapers, brooms, screwdrivers, wire cutters, rollers, saws, tape measures all were in vigorous motion.  A third floor hallway gradually wore a new face of fresh paint.  A first floor reception area was dismantled and removed to make way for a custom built 18 ft. Art Deco style reception counter.

Teddy carries partition to fill old locker bank space

Sheets of drywall and 2 x 4′s were carried up and down hallways destined to fill in empty spaces where lockers once stood.

Dickie & John apply drywall to empty locker banks

It was an afternoon full of surprises.    The school staff prepared a southern favorite, red beans & rice.  Beyond delicious!!   Our last volunteer, Jim, was finally able to get a flight to New Orleans.

At work in third floor hallway

Later in the afternoon our restaurant server from the previous night’s dinner and his friends showed up to help.  Just goes to show “Goodwill in Motion” is contagious.

John begins work on counter

What a transformation after just one day’s work!  After a final coat of paint on the doors, one segment of the upstairs hall will be complete.  Where old locker banks stood, new drywall has been applied.   The reception counter is well underway.   Colors have been selected for a third floor classroom.

. . . Lots of noise . . . lots of dust . . .  lots of good-hearted friends working together . . .

Painters at work!

Breaking for lunch in the schoolyard

Alyson & Corinne - Proud Scrapers

L.E. Rabouin School Building: Historic--Art Deco--Beautiful!

We met our friend, Troy Peloquin. of the Louisiana Recovery School District at the Rabouin School and took note of all the work we will undertake over the next several days.  The school is beautiful – stunning art deco ornamentation in every direction.  It needs work though .  .  . and we are anxious to get started.

Not all volunteers have arrived yet so there is time to visit and participate in two elementary school fairs. We assisted with lots of games and a ton of face painting – not sure who had more fun, the kids or the volunteers. Plus, our service trip is not too busy to help our friends, iArtists, from College of DuPage by delivering their beautiful donated paintings to Camp Restore in New Orleans.  These are a gift for families who rebuild and return to their homes after Katrina.

By early evening most volunteers have arrived and a group dinner welcoming all completes our first full day in New Orleans.    More tomorrow.

Mike helps Mary and Ron load supplies for the drive to New Orleans

We bid Mary & Ron adieu as they head southbound to New Orleans with their van filled with supplies.  The first wave of volunteers prepare to catch their respective planes and trains — and so our story begins.

Mike, Teddy, Mary and Ron

Several hours later, eight of us arrive.    The rest of the day holds time to reacquaint (or experience for the first time) the friendly ambiance of the neighborhood where we will stay.   Our first meal does not disappoint as we discuss tomorrow’s agenda.  A relaxing evening of conversation and laughter closes this first day.

Our destination?  International High School of New Orleans (IHSNO) located at L.E. Rabouin school building, a 1935 Art Deco style school in need of restoration, located in the Central Business District in New Orleans. Who’s goin’?  Twenty-three dedicated Global Hope volunteers. Our friends at the Louisiana Recovery School District will have us busy painting the worn walls of the school halls, repairing and drywalling the hallways where locker banks have been removed, designing and building a new 18 foot office reception counter, restoring the outside basketball courts and so much more. …And hopefully there will be time for some artistic touches before we wrap it up to return home.

Let us introduce our 2010 team of amazing volunteers:

Anna A., Connie C., John D., Mary D., John, Patti & Corinne E., Ted F., Margaret F., Nancy G., Ron & Mary H., Sue K., Ken & Marjie K., Mary L., Dickie & Teri N., Larry S., Jim S., Jon S., Michael & Doris T.

Some amazing volunteers are helping “behind the scenes” also:

Mary and Ron H. will drive our tools and supplies to New Orleans.

Gayle and Mike Mullins of Illinois Wolves AAU Basketball have donated a case of basketballs and nets.

Petie S., one of our Global Hope master carpenters, has been hard at work custom-designing the new office counter.

Dollar/Thrifty Rent a Car in New Orleans once again gave us a fabulous discount on our minivan rentals to get the volunteers to and from the work site.

And our generous host, Kent Ozborn, owner of the best place to stay in New Orleans, the French Quarter Firehouse, is once again extending a generous discount to our group.

Colorburst Printing of Downers Grove, our favorite not-for-profit, socially responsible, custom screen printer, is creating beautiful custom tee-shirts for our volunteers.

Visit us daily on this blog page to track our progress.

Back by Popular Demand!

We’re headed back to New Orleans, LA to bring our special brand of hands-on, global hope support to a number of local community projects.

Our next New Orleans Service Trip has been scheduled for

Friday, Oct 29 – Wednesday, Nov 3, 2010

Interested in hard work, tons of fun and the most satisfying feeling of knowing you have made a difference in someone’s life? We will be there from Friday to the following Wednesday, and volunteers are welcome to join us on any of the days they are available—make it a fun and meaningful Halloween weekend!

Anna & Teddy - two ace painters! (2009 New Orleans Service Trip)

Contact us right away, if you want to come – we’re starting a mailing list for interested folks. Tell us your name, when you think you can join us, and your email address so we can contact you.

If you’d like to learn more about this kind of Global Hope all-volunteer service project, click here to visit our blog page from our 2009 New Orleans Service Trip.

Come One, Come All
Our 4^th New Orleans Service Trip

When: October 8-13, 2009 (Columbus Day Weekend)

Where: Ninth Ward to help renovate Drew Elementary and Douglass High School.

Why: These schools and families have limited resources and were among the hardest hit during Katrina.

What We Hope to Accomplish:

• Purchase and install bulletin boards outside of every classroom
• Reorganize and install shelving in the bookroom.
• Organize teacher’s closets in classrooms
• Paint the main entrance and several offices
• Assist with landscaping, cleanup work and other outdoor projects

What We Need:

• School supply discounts
• Paint
• Children’s books, athletic equipment (balls, bats, mitts, etc.)
• Misc. supplies (ask us)
• Travel vouchers for airfare and/or rental cars.   (There are several skilled volunteers willing to come down but need a little help defraying costs.)
• Donations

Our crew leaders will be Michael Taylor and Ken Kremer. Global Hope will organize the work projects, tools and supplies and materials. Volunteers are responsible for their own travel expenses.

Discover the fun and revel in the satisfaction of volunteering for this exciting service trip. To sign up, please contact us.