Hi from Chris

Our day today brought us to a Boys and Girls Club of America just over the Mississippi. Jamie, Tricia, Angie, Cindy, Dianne and I chose to do this project. Neil did another gut house instead. He wanted to see a house from the very beginning of the gutting process since our last gut house was a house that had been started by another crew. He reported that his experience was very interesting. He hauled out clothing and furniture, and tried to avoid the closed refrigerator. We were told at the beginning of the week by Anthony to never, ever open a refrigerator in a gut house. He said that the materials inside at this point are considered toxic. One whiff and you’d probably vomit on the spot.

Our day at the Boys and Girls Club was a good one. Other crews from Hands On New Orleans had been to this site already Monday and Tuesday, so a good portion of the work had already been done. The other groups had removed large sections of bleachers, so what was left for us was to remove a few walls, finish up the bleachers, pull the tile and plywood off the floors, and begin painting some of the office spaces.

This club did not receive extensive damage from the hurricanes, yet we felt happy to do the work. Getting some community spaces up and running to put a good face on the city is probably as important as anything. We’ll be helping over 300 kids have a space to go and hang out.

In the end the hope is that the club will get completely restored with a spruced up gymnasium and brand new offices. We are partnering with a local construction company and the New Orleans Zephyrs, a minor league baseball team. Those two groups are apparently putting up most of the money for the project. The construction company was kind enough to supply us with water and Gatorade all day, and with a lunch of chicken strips, French fries, and salad.

We did some really hard work today demolishing walls. The walls were held together with plaster, so even after we finished knocking them down it took forever to separate the studs from the wire mesh that held the plaster together. It was a chore. We took plenty of swings with the sledgehammer. In the morning I had energy to fire away. But by mid-morning I’d take some hacks with the sledgehammer for 10-15 minutes then need to take a break. It was exhausting.

I’m really impressed with our crew, and all of the other workers who are down here. The girls from EP amaze me. They just get in there and go to town. No questions, no waiting for guys to help them. They just do it. It’s quite inspiring. I’m proud to be down here with all the Oak Pointers. We’ve bonded and are now a tight bunch. We’ll now have this common experience to share with each other forever.

Speaking of pride, several of the Hands On crew members commented today on how impressed they are with Minnesotans. They think we’re really tough, and they are astounded by how many Minnesotans have come down to help. They say Minnesota is the state that has the most volunteers coming to New Orleans. So, we’re doing our part to help make Minnesota look good.