"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.

Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has"

Margaret Mead, Anthropologist
(used with permission)



"If you don't like the news .... go out and make some of your own !!"

Wes "Scoop" Nisker, Newscaster



INTRODUCTION

Government is a slow and tedious process. While it often includes citizen and neighborhood involvement, non-governmental, private organizations have created movements and interesting groups which can create positive change in our cities and towns.

I am fascinated by the way groups are created and how they influence public decision making. This blog merely recognizes them and forwards the description of these groups from their own websites.

Saturday, February 6, 2016

St. Bernard Project

Location: New Orleans, LA

Website: stbernardproject.org

SBP was founded in March 2006 by Zack Rosenburg and Liz McCartney after the couple, who originally lived in Washington, D.C. volunteered in St. Bernard Parish following Hurricane Katrina, in February 2006. Inspired by residents' collective spirit and fierce desire to rebuild their homes and communities, Zack and Liz launched SBP to help the community achieve its recovery goals.

With the tremendous support of donors, volunteers and corporate partners, SBP has grown from a three-person volunteer team into a nationally recognized leader in disaster resilience and recovery.

The key to SBP’s programmatic success is our model, an all-under-one-roof and vertically integrated approach that provides clients with one point of contact, causes efficiencies and accountability between traditionally siloed components and eliminates the need for (and cost of) subcontractors through in-house skilled labor crews.

SBP’s model is deeply subsidized by AmeriCorps members from all over the country who serve as client case managers, volunteer coordinators, and construction site supervisors, overseeing the labor of more than 10,000 volunteers, per location, each year.

SBP saves time and money by exercising direct control over skilled labor and scheduling, which also allows us to create well paying jobs for veterans and other under- and unemployed residents.

With its construction system enhanced and optimized through ongoing partnerships with Toyota and UPS, SBP rebuilds homes far below market rate, and carries out construction projects with much lower subsidies than traditional affordable housing models.

Since 2006, SBP has rebuilt homes for over 950 families with the help of more than 100,000 volunteers in New Orleans, LA; Joplin, MO; Staten Island, NY; Rockaway, NY;Monmouth/Ocean Counties, NJ; San Marcos, TX, and most recently Columbia, SC.
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