NEW ORLEANS – More than 10,000 volunteers took part in New Orleans’ Citywide Day of Service event to mark the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina on Saturday, August 29, 2015. Mayor Landrieu and several dignitaries laid wreaths at the Hurricane Katrina Memorial to remember all those whose lives were lost during the storm, including the many unclaimed victims who are buried at the memorial.
“Hurricane Katrina took more than 1,800 friends and loved ones from us,” said Mayor Mitch Landrieu at the Hurricane Katrina Memorial on Saturday. “Although the American citizens that lay in this sacred ground are unnamed, they are not unclaimed – because we claim them. We come here today to recommit ourselves to the notion that no American is going to be left behind. Today is about commemoration, but as soon as we finish this, we’re going to get back to work. Because, at the end of the day, this is really a story of resurrection and redemption. It’s a story about tragedy to triumph. It’s a story about overcoming no matter what it is that comes our way. Nothing is going to hold the people of this city back, because New Orleans will be unbowed and unbroken. We will go forward, but we can only do it if we hold each other up and we don’t leave anybody behind.”
Presented by Walmart and supported by Chevron, Citgo, Delta Regional Authority, McDonald's, Shell, Transdev, Volunteer Louisiana and Zurich, more than 10,000 volunteers participated in the Citywide Day of Service, which featured 100 service projects in partnership with nonprofit, neighborhood, faith-based and education organizations.
The projects focused in seven regions of the city including Central City; Seventh Ward/Treme; Lake Area/Gentilly; Florida/Desire, Lower Ninth Ward; New Orleans East; and, Algiers. Last week, other volunteer projects and special events to commemorate the anniversary of the storm took place across the city.
“In honor of those we lost and in recognition of the challenges that remain, we called on the people of New Orleans to join us in a Citywide Day of Service – and I am overjoyed at the tremendous response we received, which reminds us of the awesome power of community,” said Landrieu. “Over the past ten years, volunteers from down the street and around the world have contributed millions of hours to help New Orleans build back better than before. It’s been faith-based groups, college students, corporations, individual residents and countless others facilitating our recovery. The collective impact of these volunteers – constructing, cleaning, mentoring, training and more – forms the foundation of our resilient city. On behalf of the City of New Orleans, I want to thank the countless number of volunteers here at home and across the world for their efforts today and over the last ten years, and I am very grateful to the sponsors, partners and community members who have demonstrated the spirit of service that has defined our recovery and will guide our future.”
