< Back

Contact:
Tracy Warren, NRECA
703-907-5746
Mobile: 703-517-3411

Rebuilding Together New Orleans
Camille Lopez
504-388-0214

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, FEB. 14, 2009 – More than 100 volunteers from rural electric cooperatives around the country will be taking up hammers and other tools to help Rebuilding Together New Orleans (RTNO) restore the homes and livelihoods of New Orleans families.

Rebuilding following disaster comes naturally to cooperatives, who have a tradition of sending crews of linemen to other states following hurricanes and ice storms. After Katrina, more than 3,200 cooperative workers from 19 states came to Louisiana and Mississippi to help restore power.

Today’s volunteer effort precedes the electric cooperatives’ 2009 annual meeting in New Orleans at the Convention Center from February 15-18.

“Concern for community is one of the seven cooperative principles,” explained National Rural Electric Cooperative Association CEO Glenn English. "Taking a day to help restore this beautiful city is a natural impulse for our grassroots members.”

Today, the corps of volunteers, consisting of both elected cooperative directors and staff, will be working on several houses in the Broadmoor, Holy Cross, and St. Roch neighborhoods. Under the supervision of trained RTNO house captains, they will be painting, gutting, hanging drywall, and preparing deconstructed wood for resale in the RT Salvage Store.

In addition, cooperative energy experts will be evaluating ways to increase the energy efficiency, such as weather-stripping, and, where feasible, making efficiency improvements.

By partnering with neighborhood associations and volunteers from around the country, RTNO has successfully renovated 159 homes and brought 314 people home to New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina.

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association is the national service organization that represents the nation’s more than 900 private, not-for-profit, consumer-owned electric cooperatives, which provide service to 42 million people in 47 states.

Nearly 9,000 representatives from cooperative electric utilities across the nation are attending the NRECA Annual Meeting, February 15-18, at the New Orleans Convention Center, during which they will set NRECA’s legislative and organizational agenda for 2009.

Rebuilding Together New Orleans is a local affiliate of Rebuilding Together which has restored and revitalized more than 100,000 homes over the past 20 years. Utilizing volunteer labor, Rebuilding Together allows low-income families in communities across the country to live in comfort, safety, and dignity.

Rebuilding Together New Orleans is a program of the Preservation Resource Center, an organization devoted to promoting the preservation, restoration, and revitalization of New Orleans’ historic architecture and neighborhoods.

Printable Version