The Katrina Corps is a grassroots effort to accelerate the return of Katrina-affected families to their homes. Its initial goal is to send 25,000 college students to New Orleans over spring break as house-gutting volunteers. The prospectus (PDF) explains:

At the current rate of volunteers, the workforce on which rebuilding rests, it will take years to gut the 10,000 currently wait-listed homes in New Orleans. Gutting is the critical first step towards rebuilding.

Displaced families want to come back to their homes. Each wait-listed home represents a family that longs to return, and needs to return.

Beckon a generation to demonstrate that “IMPOSSIBLE is NOTHING” while experiencing hands-on citizenship by taking on the Katrina Challenge and contributing to the rebuilding of New Orleans—a place of extreme reality, extreme challenge, and extreme opportunity.

In addition to hands-on help, the fledgling organization also needs web design help. And they need it fast.

They’re not looking for a six-month build with three months of testing. They don’t need fancy design or flashy features. They just need a good, simple website.

If your skills are up to snuff and you’d like to help, holler.

Tags: katrina, volunteer, help, neworleans, Katrina Corps, webdesign

Filed under: Design, war, peace, and justice

13 Responses to “Design Relief: Katrina Corps”

1. 
   Patrick B said on 9 January 2007 at 4:21 pm:

   I just sent them an e-mail to ask how I could help.

   Thanks for promoting their efforts!

2. 
   Amanda Kern said on 9 January 2007 at 4:43 pm:

   This sounds like a very interesting project for our web & interactive design students. I’ve sent on information to the contact person. It’s definitely a worthy cause!
   Thanks for sharing…

3. WinExtra » A bandwagon worth jumping on said on 9 January 2007 at 7:32 pm:

   [...] the fact that much of New Orleans and surrounding parishes are still struggling to recover from this year old disaster speaks more about those in power not giving a damn and loving red tape more than the people they are suppose to represent. Jeffery Zeldman brings it to the foreground with a post about a grassroots effort called Katrina Corps that is trying to accelerate the dismal return rate of affected families. [...]

4. 
   Jacob Patton said on 9 January 2007 at 9:04 pm:

   What a great cause! I’m on it…!

5. 
   J.S. Feguson said on 9 January 2007 at 11:14 pm:

   I’d like to help out, unfortunately the site is down.

6. 
   Derek said on 9 January 2007 at 11:34 pm:

   This sounds great, however the website appears to be down. If anyone has any info please contact me. legalnonresident@yahoo.com

7. 
   Jeffrey Zeldman said on 10 January 2007 at 6:24 am:

   I’d like to help out, unfortunately the site is down.

   See, they really do need our help!

   (I’ve written to my Katrina Corps contact to inform him of the problem.)

8. 
   Jeffrey Zeldman said on 10 January 2007 at 11:54 am:

   The Katrina site is back up. Potential volunteers can also write to tim at o2b dot net.

9. Katrina Corps is looking for a web designer - Blogging New Orleans said on 10 January 2007 at 9:05 pm:

   [...] to help out artist evacuees who needed a studio after the storm.ReadPermalinkEmail thisLinking BlogsComments[0] [...]

10. 
    Todd Lambert said on 14 January 2007 at 7:24 pm:

    While I appreciate anyone who is willing to help others as a good thing, I sure do wish that organizations and groups such as this would recognize the areas that were actually hit by Hurricane Katrina rather than just the areas that were just hit by government ineptitude such as New Orleans.

    In Bay St. Louis, Waveland, Pass Christian, Long Beach, Gulfport, Biloxi, Ocean Springs and countless other areas here on the Mississippi gulf coast, there are complete cities leveled, entire neighborhoods removed from the map, infrastructure that will take years to be rebuilt. People that were not able to be re-located to other cities and are having to live on their vacant lots and empty slabs, homeless.

    I would never want to take help away from others and that is not why I am writing this. I just wanted to illustrate that are countless others who are not getting help, and have not been nearly as visible in the national Katrina help efforts as New Orleans and the 9th Ward have been.

    That said, thanks Jeffrey, for bringing light to these efforts regardless, I know they are much appreciated.

    - Todd Lambert

11. 2007 relief needs after Katrina - Web - WebCrawler said on 26 March 2007 at 8:56 pm:

    [...] 2007 relief needs after Katrina … 1. Hurricane Relief Donate to Help Families Devastated by Hurricanes! – Learn More Sponsored by: http://www.WorldVision.org/ [Found on Ads by Google] 2. Jeffrey Zeldman Presents : Design Relief: Katrina Corps 12 Responses to “Design Relief: Katrina Corps”. Patrick B said on January 9th, 2007 at 4:21 pm:. I just sent them an e-mail to ask how I could help. … [...]

12. 
    Ally said on 13 June 2007 at 5:23 am:

    This is a great cause and it’ll be good to see everyone grouping together to help out. I have fairly good web design skills so will look into contributing when I am at home. Thanks for posting this.

13. A bandwagon worth jumping on — Shooting at Bubbles said on 21 April 2009 at 6:40 pm:

    [...] than the people they are suppose to represent. Jeffery Zeldman brings it to the foreground with a post about a grassroots effort called Katrina Corps that is trying to accelerate the dismal return rate [...]