Friends of New Orleans
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| Address | Friends of New Orleans, Inc. c/o Baton Rouge Area Foundation |
| Website | friendsofneworleans.org |
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[edit] How We’ll Do It
Our purpose is to advocate, inform, link up and take action.
[edit] Advocate
The main issues we are going rally around are as follows:
- Support a long term plan for major hurricane protection for the region that includes:
- improved levees and storm surge barriers, and
- restoration of coastal wetlands.
- Private and government sector assistance to rebuild Louisiana's devastated communities.
- A fair share of the gas and oil revenues of Louisiana's continental shelf for use by the State as needed.
These issues are based on a Time magazine, March 6, 2006 article titled “Why New Orleans Needs Saving,†written by former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-Georgia ) and John M. Barry, author of Rising Tide and The Great Influenza.
[edit] Inform
We want to inform individuals all over the US and beyond who care about New Orleans and its surrounding parishes.
We will tell them about the vibrant neighborhoods that existed there - the people, the culture, the music, the food, the history. We will tell them what happened to these neighborhoods and the families that lived there when Katrina hit, and what is happening to them now. We want everyone to know the dreams, hopes and aspirations of the people who live there now and are trying to rebuild, and of those that want to come back. We will inform them of the challenges as well as the opportunities that exist.
We want to inform everyone of the key issues that this area faces on the federal, state and local levels. We want to inform everyone of what the people in these devastated communities want and need. We want to dispel a lot of misinformation that is floating out there. We want to set the record straight. Information will include links to different articles that have been printed in various media sources throughout the US, short documentaries and film clips, references to books, exhibitions, music, info. on research, TV shows, etc.
[edit] Link Up
We want to link individuals, who want to help New Orleans and its surrounding parishes, with the communities and their people. Friends of New Orleans is a person's direct link to community. People around the US and beyond will be able to go to our website, become informed about the communities and their needs, and be able to get involved directly with those communities and the local organizations that are doing the work. We will have lots of community partners (nonprofits, community leaders, civic groups, local donors, universities, etc.) who are there doing the work and who need money, technical assistance, materials, volunteers, access to information, help networking, etc. These partners have links on our web so that they can tell their story and give the person info. on how to reach them and how to help them. For example: One of our local partners is New Orleans Video Access Center (NOVAC), a nonprofit that has been around for 33 years, teaching adults and children how to do video and film production. NOVAC needs to raise money to be able to produce more short documentaries of the devastated neighborhoods in the City of New Orleans and its surrounding parishes. Someone who goes to our site can find out about NOVAC and can get in touch with them and help in a way that is suitable for them. Another example: A college student from Indiana wants to spend her summer vacation volunteering for a local community based organization or rebuilding. By going to our site, this student can find the information she will need to volunteer locally.
[edit] Action
We hope that by providing the right information and linking people to communities and the local organizations who are doing the work, individuals all over the US and beyond will get involved in the rebuilding effort. There are many ways by which people can get involved. First, they can declare their support for the region and the rebuilding effort by joining our membership and declaring themselves a member of New Orleans. Our goal is to find one million friends for the region so that we can show this nation and the rest of the world that New Orleans and its surrounding parishes are important, they matter to us, and they must be brought back the right way. Second, people can get help in the rebuilding effort by: a) writing to their congress and senate reps to tell them that NO and its surrounding parishes are important and that you want them to be rebuilt and rebuilt the right way; b) donating money, materials and assistance directly to the devastated communities and the local organizations that are doing the work; c) volunteering; d) helping people in NO and surrounding parishes make other connections and networks. We also need people to come down to this region on their vacations, honeymoon, college reunion, business conferences, Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, etc. to enjoy the beauty of the place, the music, the food and the people. And, to consider investing and starting new businesses in the area that will create new job opportunities and bring much needed revenues for building and improving the current infrastructure.
[edit] Our Board
Our board continues to grow. Right now we have 20 people. These are: Walter Isaacson (NO native, President of The Aspen Institute and former President/CEO and Chairman of CNN and Time Magazine), James Carville (political advisor, author and CNN commentator), John Barry (author of the Rising Tide and other prize winning books), Mike Tidwell (author of Bayou Farewell and major spokesperson for rebuilding LA wetlands), Mike Medavoy (Phoenix Pictures/Hollywood Producer), Julia Reed (NO native, author, CNN commentator and writer for Vogue and NYT), John Larroquette (NO native and Hollywood actor), Gloria Dittus (head of large PR firm in DC), Dona Brazile (ran Gore campaign and CNN commentator), Rev. William J. Byron (former President of Catholic Univ., Scranton Univ. and Loyola Univ. in NO, author and syndicated columnist), Stephen Perry (President of New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau), James Honore (Executive VP at Columbia Pictures and brother of Gen. Honore), Amy Pascal (Chairperson of Sony Motion Picture Group), Taylor Hackford (Director of Ray Charles), Harry Shearer (Comedian, Actor and voice of Homer Simpson), Robert Dawson (former head of Army Corps of Engineers, served under Reagan, Republican Lobbyist), Clark Erwin (former Homeland Security Inspector General, CNN commentator and author of "Open Target"), CC Lockwood (Louisiana photographer, naturalist and writer), Rev. Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J. (President of Loyola University) and Denise Byrne (former Tulane grad, nonprofit management consultant, and now a volunteer Executive Director in this effort).
[edit] Structure of Organization
We are a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization. Members will primarily be recruited and kept informed and engaged through our website. Currently we are set up as a fund under the Baton Rouge Area Foundation while we file for 501(c)3 status in Louisiana, a process that has already begun and should take about one more month to complete. Anyone wanting to make a contribution to this effort now, can send their check to BRAF in the name of "Friends of New Orleans Fund." All contributions to FONO or FONO Fund are tax deductible.
[edit] Staffing
We will be based in New Orleans and we will be hiring an Executive Director who will operate from there. Right now we do not have any start up monies to do this so all the coordinating, follow up and staffing is being done by Denise Byrne on a volunteer basis.
[edit] Web Site
The internet media/fundraising software company, MediaMezcla, has already begun building our site pro bono. We are aiming to have something very basic yet functional by June 1st. We are also hoping to get some design help from people who are based in Louisiana. oioixudg http://kfrvrwnz.com ptlsrrmn kqfwuems [URL=http://pitizysv.com]pdmxomst[/URL] <a href="http://ecmuzgcb.com">eixifbvs</a>
