Guest Entry From Earth 3

AmeriCorps NCCC has given me many opportunities to help improve communities in the US, and my visit to New Orleans this weekend was no different. Well, it was a little different. Instead of working with elementary students in Denver or helping to renovate homes in Lake Charles, we worked on improving the local economy using tourism. But don't be fooled – we were no ordinary tourists. We were AmeriCorps tourists.

My name is Keegan and I'm a member of the team Earth 3. My team is living in Lake Charles, Louisiana and working with the Cameron Parish Council on Aging. After the damage of Hurricane Rita, many residents were forced to leave. We help elderly residents of southwestern Louisiana return to the area by renovating homes and doing other projects. This week my team is building a wheelchair ramp, painting houses and helping out with a charity banquet. Back to the trip. New Orleans is one of the most popular destinations for Corps Members because so many teams are working there to help the area recover from Hurricane Katrina. But we didn't feel like typical visitors. Being a part of AmeriCorps NCCC meant that we had a whole list of friends to visit, and it also meant that we had the chance to see the city from a different perspective than most visitors. We got to see our friends from some other teams in the area, check out their housing, and learn about their projects (teams like the Earth Oneders). My group also took a tour through the 9th Ward, guided by a Team Leader who worked there last year. Seeing all of the sights was great, but maybe the most striking thing about our visit was the welcome we felt from the community.

It seemed that everyone we talked to during our trip knew about AmeriCorps NCCC and what we do, from our restaurant servers to shopkeepers, cab drivers, and even the nice lady at the hotel check-in desk. The NCCC has a very good reputation among New Orleans residents and it made me proud to feel the respect and gratitude of many of the people we met. The trip gave my team members and me the chance to check out New Orleans (and gave Earth 1 the chance to ask someone else to write for their blog). I have a better understanding of how far the city has come, and how far it has yet to go. And after this weekend I'm really excited at the possibility of having a project in New Orleans for a future round.

~Keegan