New initiative brings new resources to New Orleans East
1st April 2019 · 0 Comments
By Michael Patrick Welch
Contributing Writer
From Hurricane Katrina, to ongoing poverty, to a more recent tornado touchdown in 2017, New Orleans East seemingly can’t catch a break. But last Thursday (March 28), at Joe Brown Park in New Orleans East, residents of the area, along with local politicians, plus present and former employees of AT&T, all gathered to watch and hear representatives of that company speak about its new charity initiative, called Believe NOLA.
Directly following the New Orleans Regional Black Chamber of Commerce luncheon, AT&T’s state president of southeast Louisiana, Sonia Perez, took the podium to say that Believe NOLA (part of a larger national initiative), is meant to give back to New Orleans East, and, “creative positive change by combating poverty and helping residents.”
Perez said that AT&T is uniquely suited to “help keep [the New Orleans East Community] connected” by “closing the digital divide.”
Perez and her fellow employees went on to describe some of the more specific aspects of the Believe NOLA initiative, including donations of money to N.O. East partners including Science Technology Engineering and Math New Orleans (STEM NOLA), the NOLA Business Alliance, New Orleans Recreation Development (NORD), the Urban League, and the United Way. AT&T also plans to construct a brand new retail outlet in the area, to replace the one destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Governor John Bel Edwards and Sheriff Marlin Gusman both attended the meeting. Mayor Latoya Cantrell was also scheduled to sit with them, but arrived near the event’s end. In the meantime, Edwards spoke, quoting from a bible passage about the value of neighbors, as he explained ways in which Believe NOLA will “inspire positive change” in New Orleans East.
At the podium, District E Councilwoman Cindy Nguyen immediately announced that she wanted to rebrand New Orleans East as “The E!”
A longtime community organizer and housing specialist who noted that she skipped the day’s council meeting to attend the presentation in the community she was elected to represent. Nguyen praised AT&T for finally returning to “The E” almost a decade and a half later. “What other people say they might do,” said Nguyen, “they’re actually doing it, guys!”
Calvin Mackie of STEM NOLA, which has enriched thousands of kids and families with science- and engineering-based education initiatives, said AT&T had already purchased his group brand new computers, with which to help teach a new coding class that will debut this summer for kids from New Orleans East.
Larry Barabino, Jr., CEO of NORD, also announced a grant his organization received from AT&T, along with a promise that the company would sponsor NORD’s Easter Extravaganza on April 13.
“It doesn’t matter how much money you have though,” Barabino reminded the crowd. “It’s really about the people you have, and the volunteers, that make these things a success.” Barabino then announced that NORD is still looking for volunteer coaches and mentors for the organizations upcoming summer camps, and other events.
Near the meeting’s end, AT&T presented a large novelty check representing its $250,000 donation, made out to “NOLA East Community Organizations.”
Retired AT&T employee Alexcear Short, a New Orleans Easy resident of 47 years, said she was very excited to have such a major corporation investing in her downtrodden community.
“We used to have one of the biggest malls in New Orleans out here, and now there are almost no retail shops at all,” she said. “You can’t buy shoes out here, you can’t buy clothes. If my phone dies, I don’t want to have to go to Clearview! If a company like AT&T comes out here with a new retail store, then hopefully other retail outlets will follow. And that is really what this area needs right now,” Short said.
This article originally published in the April 1, 2019 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
