“Now, I am both humbled and proud to announce that with the aid of the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, I am able to fulfill one of my biggest dreams: creating a home for my family. Thank you to all the hard working people at NOAHH, the sponsors, volunteers, and my family and friends who assisted in turning my dream into a reality. I cannot wait to host my first barbecue! The best is yet to come! – Jolanda Cole, NOAHH Partner Family
As we gather today with our friends and family to celebrate Thanksgiving, we recall that how important it is to continue to be there for one another. In the face of violence, natural disasters, and our continued fight against blight and substandard housing, we are grateful to be given the opportunity to work every day with future homeowners who are making a difference in their own lives and in their neighborhoods, with volunteers from all over the world who carry a part of New Orleans with them, with donors who share their resources with us to build a better city, and with everyone who has made our mission to fight poverty housing their own.
This year, you have risen to the challenge of helping our friends in Baton Rouge after catastrophic flooding, gutting homes and offering encouragement to those at the beginning of a very long road to recovery. You have also been part of creating a thriving community on America Street in New Orleans East and repairing the homes of people with disabilities and the elderly. Your example inspires us, making every hot summer day, every rainy afternoon, every smashed thumb worth it, and your example inspires us to keep going. Knowing that so many have taken time to give back uplifts us even when times are hard–especially when times are hard.
You are part of our Habitat family. You have been there for us through the hardest times, answering the need in our city with greater strength than we had ever seen before, and you have been there for us as we have steadied our course, finding a sustainable pace and resources to keep us fighting for decades to come. When we take on new programs, like our ABWK repair program, or our transitional housing partnership with Covenant House, you have embraced them. Your constant presence is what makes this possible, reminding us that, thankfully, we are not alone.
Today, we want to thank everyone who is part of our family. We are grateful to everyone who has served as a volunteer, donated money or materials, advocated on our behalf, offered us guidance, or worked on our staff, and we are especially grateful to everyone who has applied to our program and built their home in partnership with us.
Thank you.