This is my first time in New Orleans and it has been an eye opening experience. Even with all the destruction from hurricane Katrina there is still beauty throughout the streets.

Yesterday and half of today I helped in a warehouse which is stocked with furniture to provide the families in need that have lost everything. We took everything off pallets and organized it to be distributed. Right now they have 49 thousand laz-boy items, and are soon getting the furniture from 450 rooms at the Excalibur hotel in Las Vegas.

The other half of today I went to a couple's home to start removing nails, tile and an old air conditioning system. As soon as we got there the woman came out of the FEMA trailer and was so excited to see us. She started to tear up and was thrilled we were put in her life to lend our service. She asked where we were from and when we said "Wisconsin" she threw her hands in the air and screamed joyously "cheeseheads, cheeseheads!!!" Both her and her husband are huge Packer fans. She also owned a cat that had survived the storm. The cat disappeared two days before the storm and when the husband returned by boat 7 days after it hit he looked through the window to see the damage in his house and heard the cat meowing and saved it. This black cat was roaming around as we worked enjoying the attention. After working awhile, I was sitting with the woman on the FEMA trailer steps and she was sharing her story with me through this difficult time. Listening to her stories made the work that much more meaningful. She "just wants to be home!"


-Stacie