Nine years ago, people across our country asked whether or not New Orleans should be saved. They asked why we couldn't all just move a little further up river? Why we couldn't all just start over in another town?...
{How to help Hurricane Harvey Victims}
{What It's Like to Be a Hurricane Survivor}
From NOLA to Houston, With Love
We're just a few days shy of the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and our TVs and social media feeds are again full...
Let’s face it Louisiana, it’s been a tough week.
Scratch that. It’s been a tough month.
From police shootings to protests and now watching the floodwaters rise and fall while waiting to see which neighborhood the river will consume next has...
I wandered around the streets looking for an internet café. It was 2005, well before smart phones gave us the ability to walk around with information at our fingertips. And, of course, this was the week my laptop had...
My dearest children,
For the past ten years on August 29th, I have taken this day, the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, to reflect on our Katrina story. Growing up here in New Orleans, you will come to learn that everyone...
It’s August 28, 2005.
We watch helplessly as long lines of New Orleanians make their way into the Superdome, clutching pillowcases, suitcases, and small children.
We watch this scene on a small TV screen in New York’s JFK airport, squeezed into...
The first time I came to New Orleans, I was a high school senior considering Tulane University. After spending an afternoon in the French Quarter, before I had even set foot on Tulane’s campus, I knew I was going...
As Director of Operation Playground for KaBOOM!, I saw a lot in New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina, but I’ll never forget the first time I saw ‘Play World’ in New Orleans. It was a...
Disclosure :: This post was created in partnership with our sponsor Toyota.
The Toyota Effect
When you think of the brand name Toyota, you probably think of cars. But did you know that Toyota has a greater mission? Toyota believes that organizations should...
To My Little Ones,
This weekend marks the 10 year anniversary of a storm that you know nothing about. You know nothing about it because you are too little, and it happened before mommy and daddy even got married. It...
There are details that are so incredibly vivid nine years later, and there are those that have faded with time. But at the end of the day, those details don't matter, it's the lessons I learned in the aftermath...
{see also :: New Orleans is Sending Houston LOVE}
My Katrina Days :: An Anniversary Reflection
We decided to stay. We had just evacuated for the previous storm, spent hours in traffic, and came home to a few leaves on the...
"I'll finish this wedding album Monday," I thought to myself. It was finally Friday, and near the end of the workday. My plans for the weekend were simple: have a relaxing evening with my husband, maybe head to a friend's house, take...
In August 2005 I was an 18-year-old college sophomore who had just decided to move back to New Orleans. A few days before the storm I evacuated with friends and family, as we had done so many times before....