Message from our Director:

When the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans (PRC) started Christmas in October in 1988, over 360 of “Santa’s helpers” got together during the weekend of October 29th and had a huge impact on the Coliseum Square neighborhood. As a volunteer-based effort to improve the quality of life of home owners in the original Operation Comeback area, the seed had been planted for what would later become Rebuilding Together New Orleans.

Going over archived editions of PRC’s “Preservation In Print” magazine, the dedication and pride that hundreds of teams put into their small home repair projects is still alive. One of my favorite facts about October build is that several of our teams have come back every year since the beginning and continue to support our cause. Chevron, Shell and the Junior League are our old timers, as well as Whitney Bank, Folgers, W.S. Nelson and the LA Peace Corps Association, who have had teams for nearly 15 years.

Not only was the actual construction work done by volunteers; there was also a Steering Committee which, year after year, supported and coordinated the herculean effort. Many of the people involved would go out to evaluate houses and prepare workscopes for the volunteer teams, recruit volunteers and homeowners, as well as neighbors to assist. They did it on their own time, throughout the whole year, every year. Their hard work culminated during the weekend of October when they finally would see the planned repairs being completed. Communities throughout the city have benefited from October Build throughout the last 23 years. Building equity for low-income families, leveraging our resources and bringing everyone together, are the by-products of this annual effort.
The success of the program was such that many neighborhood leaders rapidly started getting involved to bring the volunteer effort into their areas. This took RTNO from Coliseum Square to the Marigny and Bywater, and later all the way to Holy Cross and Gentilly, where we have built so much equity for homeowners before and after Katrina. Since 1990, the City of New Orleans’s Office of Community Development has partnered with us, becoming a major contributor and supporter of our program through Comminity Development Block Grants.

After Katrina, the program expanded to tackle the recovery efforts, based mainly on help from volunteers around the country. Losing our local volunteer base was a concern, until 2007, when Rebuilding Together celebrated the first post-Katrina October Build with over 20 teams. For the last five years, we at RTNO continue to expect October to be one of our busiest months.

During the first two weekends of October this year, 473 volunteers and 27 teams worked as enthusiastically as ever. Homeowners were happy to meet volunteers and vice versa; many enjoyed traditional New Orleans food cooked by the families, while members of our Steering Committee and board visited sites and continued to motivate our volunteer base.

On behalf of our home owners, neighborhoods and RTNO staff and service members, we want to send out a big Thank You! to everyone who made our 22nd annual build come true.