Influencers Take Part in Rebuilding Together New Orleans’ Build and Boil Event
April 17th, 2019 by
On April 6, a group of Influencers took part in the Build and Boil event hosted by Rebuilding Together New Orleans (RTNO). With the guidance of our group leaders (and a few Influencers who are particularly handy), we helped make the home of a Korean War veteran with a disability more suited to his daily needs by improving its accessibility. The team spent several hours working on the home before heading back to the RTNO warehouse to enjoy crawfish and drinks.
Giving Back to Our Community
During the build portion of the event, we had the privilege of working on the home of Clarence Gabriel. Mr. Gabriel was medically discharged after serving in the Air Force during the Korean War. Upon returning to civilian life, he worked for 35 years as a self-employed craftsman and has always enjoyed working with his hands. Mr. Gabriel has lived in New Orleans his entire life and purchased his 7th Ward home in 1996.
Mr. Gabriel is wheelchair-bound, and his decreased mobility makes it difficult for him to get around. When we arrived at his home, we were greeted by his daughter Melissa, who gave us a bit of background on Mr. Gabriel and the house. A ramp had already been built at the front of the structure, so we got to work adding the finishing touches. Our team cut pieces of lumber with a chop saw, fit the wooden planks with brackets, installed them along the sides of the ramp, and then treated the handrails and latticework with sealant.
After a day of hard work, we took part in the boil. We made sure to try the crawfish of as many participants as possible by keeping tabs on whose boils we had already sampled. We couldn’t agree on a winner, but we had a great time trying to decide on one.
Our Partnership With RTNO
Rebuilding Together New Orleans is a program of the Preservation Resource Center that works to “improve the quality of life of low-income homeowners, particularly those who are elderly, disabled, veterans, or single heads of households with minor children, through home repair and revitalization of New Orleans’ neighborhoods.”
Previously, Search Influence partnered with RTNO to secure them a much-needed website redesign and updates to make it more user-friendly and easier for their staff to maintain.
The goals of RTNO’s new website included the following:
- Making it easier for those in need of assistance to apply for help
- Increasing volunteer sign ups
- Increasing donations
Based on the success of this April’s Build and Boil event, it seems like RTNO is well on their way to accomplishing those goals.
Search Influence is proud to help support members of our community and local nonprofits. To keep tabs on our team, follow us on Instagram.
