Remembering Your Neighbor

On the outside of the Lower 9th Ward Village, where my friend Ward “Mack” McLendon, is struggling to provide a hub for the people who have returned to reclaim their homes and community, there is a colorful mural to track the people who lived here before Hurricane Katrina.

Here is a beautiful 7-minute video of Mac explaining what the mural symbolizes and why he has it in full view for anyone who enters the center or just passes by.

I want to help Mack realize his dream of a thriving community center to help the residents of the Lower 9th. I support his frank assumption that if we do not provide something stable for the children and keep them in a safe environment, then they are vulnerable to a tough street reality. A summer camp will keep these children off the streets and give them a positive and exciting experience.

This is the second of three posts (a link to the first post) about Mack and his vision. If you can possibly help, please click here. Every dollar brings the community center closer to making the dream a reality. Thank you for considering a gift to the Lower 9th Ward Village.

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Alon Shalev is the author of The Accidental Activist (now available on Kindle) and A Gardener’s Tale. He is the Executive Director of the San Francisco Hillel Foundation, a non-profit that provides spiritual and social justice opportunities to Jewish students in the Bay Area. More on Alon Shalev at http://www.alonshalev.com/and on Twitter (#alonshalevsf).