<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"Last summer, I made my first trip ever to New Orleans. I stayed in the bustling French Quarter and the city seemed as vibrant as ever. It wasn&amp;#039;t until my friends and I visited the city&amp;#039;s Lower Ninth Ward on the last day of our trip that I realized the city still suffered from 2005&amp;#039;s Hurricane Katrina. I&amp;#039;ll never forget seeing a grocery store that looked like the storm had just hit the day before, a Six Flags amusement park sign that still read &amp;quot;Closed for Storm,&amp;quot; an abandoned yellow school bus with broken windows and torn seats and walking into a dilapidated home with only one thing still standing besides the four walls: a toilet. My friends and I were devastated and wished we could extend our stay to help out with the relief efforts. Yesterday, Barack Obama made his first trip to New Orleans as a president. He toured parts of New Orleans that are still struggling to recover from Hurricane Katrina and promised residents that mistakes made after Katrina won&amp;#039;t be repeated. He even held a town-hall event at the first\u2014and only\u2014 school to reopen in the Ninth Ward since the storm. According to the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center, nine New Orleans neighborhoods still have less than half of the active residential addresses they did in 2005. If you would like to help to continue to rebuild New Orleans, here are some ways you can volunteer or donate. -Make it Right Foundation- This organization acts as a catalyst for redevelopment of the Lower Ninth Ward by building a neighborhood comprised of safe and healthy homes. Go to makeitrightnola.org to donate. -Operation Kids/ Brees Dream Foundation- This partnership raises money for children&amp;#039;s projects in New Orleans including parks, academic programs, child care facilities, athletic facilities and more. Visit operationkids.org/ok-new-orleans to donate. -Hands On New Orleans- This foundation is committed to the long-term recovery and rebuilding of communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Current projects include house gutting, animal shelter support mentoring in schools and more. To volunteer or donate, go to handsonneworleans.org. -For more volunteer or donation opportunities, please go to foreverneworleans.com and click on &amp;quot;Voluntourism&amp;quot; on the homepage. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/life/news/a44061/rebuilding-new-orleans-4063/>