Environmental Sustainability, Social Entrepreneurship, and Revitalization
New Orleans is a city with a rich and important history. By the 19th century, New Orleans was the largest and most important city in the American South due to the size of its port, and its political and commercial significance. It grew rapidly in the 19th century to include a unique mix of cultures, including Americans, Africans, French, and Creoles.
In 2005, New Orleans was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Since then, the city has been on a dedicated path of revitalization requiring tremendous collaboration by local community members, innovators, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and government officials.
All of this makes for an incredibly relevant and dynamic backdrop to study some of today’s most pressing issues while contributing to innovative solutions.
Key Topic Areas:
Focusing the group and laying foundations:
We’ll start with an engaging dialogue and overview of the social, environmental, and cultural climate in New Orleans pre- and post-Katrina. Specifically, the group will learn about some of the significant challenges still affecting the city (urban flooding, blight, lagging education, etc.) while also hearing about the promising advancements and innovations being made by local entrepreneurs and high-level policymakers.
Depending on the group’s preference, participants can do a “deep-dive” into 1-2 volunteer projects, or they can gain exposure and contribute to a larger variety of projects over the course of 5-7 days.
Service projects focus on a range of relevant and pressing issues within New Orleans, including Neighborhood Revitalization, Environmental Sustainability, Housing & Homelessness, Education, and Social Entrepreneurship.
Participants volunteer approximately 5 hours a day.
Potential projects could include:
Dive into the rich cultural history of New Orleans and enjoy “The Big Easy” during the afternoons and evenings.