Cleaning Up New Orleans

Yesterday, as I was driving to Ursuline Academy I saw an inspirational sight. A very large volunteer krewe, mostly women cleaning up the neutral ground on Claiborne Ave. I haven't seen this sort of activity since before KTMB overtook our city and to be quite honest I don't recall seeing volunteer krewes cleaning any areas of our city before August 2005. I know organizations were in existence, but to me were not highly visible. I also know different volunteer organizations have been cleaning areas of our city for a few months on the weekends, but during the week to have so many volunteers was impressive.

The krewe was cleaning between Burdette Street and State Street. As I drove by I saw a sign advertising their group. They are the Katrina Krewe, www.cleanno.com. They deserve all the advertising they can get.

As of January 7th they have gathered for over 9 events to pick up debris and trash in several areas. I admire everyone who has taken the time and put big efforts into cleaning up. We all know there is so much debris and trash from New Orleans to Jefferson and it will take more than the city officials to get it all picked up. It will be an ongoing project as people continue to clean out their houses and businesses and start to rebuild.

We are all busy with repairs, work, family and so many other things and I understand we must work on our personal space first. However, we have to expand our workload to incorporate cleaning our neighborhoods and surrounding areas too. More people need to take the time, including myself to show the world we take pride in our city.

Kudos to the Katrina Krewe!