Title: TEEN-AGE VISITORS' LABOR SHOWS WHERE
HEARTS ARE
ELCA NEWS SERVICE
TEEN-AGE VISITORS' LABOR SHOWS WHERE HEARTS
ARE
by Leslie Williams
The Times-Picayune
NEW ORLEANS -- July 25 -- Applying the
biblical directive to love thy
neighbor, thousands of teens in town for a
Lutheran youth gathering fanned
out across New Orleans for cleanup projects
from the Desire and Florida
neighborhoods to Algiers Point.
"I wish all people were like them,"
observed Andrew Faucheaux as he
sat on the steps of his well-maintained home
in the Desire area of New
Orleans and watched volunteers clean an
untidy area behind his garden of
tomatoes, okra and bell peppers.
Randy Ruehs of Jessup, Iowa, and a few
others -- with flushed cheeks
and sweat-drenched clothes -- hoisted a
rusted stove and placed it by the
curb for pickup as well as removing what
Faucheaux called "gangs of
(rotting) lumber" from the back yard.
"I wasn't able to, you know, take it
out myself," said the 85-year-old Faucheaux,
who has lived at the home in the 3200 block
of Piety Street
since 1955. "In my younger days, I could
have done this."
Faucheaux welcomed the good deed, as
did others in the Desire and
Florida area neighborhoods who were
beneficiaries of the cleanup by more
than 1,400 teens and 150 adult sponsors
attending the 1997 Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America Youth Gathering.
The event, which began
Wednesday and ends Sunday, brought about
28,000 youths and 7,000 adults to
town. As part of their gathering, which
takes place in a different city
every three years, the Lutherans schedule
volunteer work into their
convention of fun, fellowship, Bible study
and worship.
The helping hand offered Faucheaux was
extended often throughout the
day. The 1,400 teens from the United States
and some foreign countries
spent nearly eight hours in 90-degree heat
and 60 percent humidity raking,
sweeping, shoveling, painting and picking up
litter and debris.
- more -
"We came here to have a good time, but
we also wanted to do something
to help, to put something back into the
community we're visiting," said
Jessica Minnich, 17, from Brogue, Pa., who
spent much of the afternoon
sweeping sidewalks in the Desire public
housing complex.
Minnich and thousands of other teens
were divided into teams and
accompanied by adult counselors and about
200 city employees.
"They're giving 100 percent," said
James Wadley, a city housing
inspector, who supervised one group of
Lutheran youths. "They're doing a
lot of good."
City workers refer to the three-day
assist from the Lutherans as the
"Super Strategic Inspection Force" cleanup
that is the result of planning
that began in March.
Other super cleanups, which should
include about 1,500 volunteers,
are scheduled today and Saturday.
"There is a lot of positive energy
within this group," said Marlin.
N. Gusman, the city's chief administrative
officer. "I'm impressed. They
are special people."
City employees also attacked vacant
lots in the area during the
cleaning spree. They cleared drains and
gutters, removed graffiti, mowed
lawns and throttled up improvements to parks
in the neighborhoods.
Many Lutherans were dispatched Thursday
to three schools: Carver
High, Lockett Elementary and Frantz
Elementary. They painted walls and
ceilings, picked up trash, grass and litter.
Other groups of teens headed west early
in the morning to start their
day of service on the West Bank.
Swarming on the ferry as they crossed
the Mississippi River from the
French Quarter, the teens were counted off
and sent into service groups as
they walked down the ferry landing ramp.
Some painted a community pool or
helped dig community gardens, while others
painted schools or houses for
the elderly, disabled and poor, among other
projects.
"This is amazing," said Fischer
Elementary School Principal Carol
Edgar-Lang, as she watched the youths
descend en masse to work around the
school. "They are a blessing from God."
Staff writer Pam Louwagie contributed to
this report.
Reprinted with permission from The
Times-Picayune.
For information contact:
Ann Hafften, Director, News and Information
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html
