Uutisia ja tarjouksia: Apua hurrikaani Katrinan uhreille

Recently,

It has been four years since Hurricane Katrina, the worst natural disaster in American history, devastated the gulf region. Though the news cameras are gone and national attention is focused elsewhere, recovery is slow and still ongoing. Many living in New Orleans, like the student of St. Mary’s Academy, are reminded daily of the tragedy with the absence of permanent structures for their school campus and resources for their library. But thanks to local resident, Christine Porter, and Cultural Care Au Pair’s philanthropic program Kids First, the elementary school students at St. Mary’s Academy now have one less reminder of the horrific storm, now that volunteer and fundraising efforts have given them $20,000 needed to rebuild the library lost that day.

 

Cultural Care Au Pair, headquartered in Cambridge, MA, brings young men and women from other countries to American host families to provide childcare and share their cultures for one to two years.  The company began its philanthropic Kids First program, as a way to give back to children in need in the United States and abroad.  With many in New Orleans still struggling to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina, the company sought ways to help and partnered with St. Mary’s Academy and librarian Michelle Ochillo.

 “Many people don’t realize that New Orleans is still recovering from Katrina, even four years after the hurricane,” said Michelle Ochillo, who took the job of St. Mary’s Academy librarian when the previous librarian had to leave the city after her home was destroyed. 

Cultural Care Au Pair and St. Mary’s Academy agreed that if the school was able to secure a structure for the library, Kids First would help them build an elementary book collection so the students could return their focus to reading and learning. Mission trips by Cultural Care Au Pair staff and volunteers helped get the school ready to receive a collection of books once the money was raised.  Next, grassroots efforts hosted by Kids First and Cultural Care Au Pair raised $20,000 for the new collection!

 

Recently, Christine Porter and her colleagues visited St. Mary’s while in New Orleans for a meeting of Cultural Care’s worldwide management team. The meeting was planned so that staff could be present for the arrival of the library’s new books and could help prepare the library for student use. Christine Porter and her colleagues got the new books “shelf ready” by adding spine labels, bar codes and book plates. They also decorated the library with framed posters, added a cozy corner and read their favorite stories to the students.

 "I absolutely loved being apart of this event.  Just seeing the looks in the children’s eyes, knowing that we were all making a difference truly brought tears to my eyes.  I loved sitting and reading with my group of girls and we got to laugh together and share some of our own stories.  I think Kids First is an amazing organization and I am honored to be part of it” said Christine.  “We are so grateful for the generosity of so many people whom we have never met and for the help of Cultural Care Au Pair.  My hope is that the students will continue to read, be inspired by the generosity and associate this new library with a love of literacy” says Michelle Ochillo.  St. Mary’s Academy in New Orleans, LA, is one of four programs currently supported by Cultural Care Au Pair’s Kids First program.  Since 2003, Kids First has raised funds and donated volunteers and resources to improve the lives of children worldwide including Orphanage #63, in Russia, Ubuhle Babantwana, an orphanage in Cape Town, South Africa, and Casa do Zezinho, an after-school center in Sao Paolo, Brazil.  For more information on Cultural Care Au Pair’s Kids First program or to find out how you can contribute, visit http://www.supportkidsfirst.com

 

 

 



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