HOPE worldwide Mobilizes 1,300 Students to Help Rebuild New Orleans on July 4th

Business Wire, June 30, 2008

WHO: More than 1,300 college and teen volunteers from HOPE worldwide, ACORN, Louisiana Family Recovery Corps, the American Red Cross, New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, International Churches of Christ, and the City of New Orleans

WHAT: The largest post-Katrina, campus student service event to be held in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward

WHEN: Friday, July 4, 2008; Volunteers will be dropped off at 50-100 lots around the Ninth Ward at 9 a.m.; post event celebration begins at 2 p.m.

WHERE: Morning activity headquarters will be housed at Bush Park at the corner of Caffin and Dergenois Streets; closing ceremony to welcome residents back to their community will be held in Bush Park at 2 p.m.

On Friday, July 4, college students from 152 campuses across the country will participate in the largest single student volunteer effort yet in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans. Many of the student volunteers will be in Louisiana for an International Churches of Christ campus ministry conference.

This one-day event will bring together more than 1,300 enthusiastic college and high school volunteers from HOPE worldwide, along with a number of nonprofit partners and residents from the Lower Ninth Ward for a day focused on debris removal and beautification of the community. Volunteers will work closely with local residents to clear 100 lots to provide public gardens and site where homes can be rebuilt.

Several special guests and officials have been invited including Mayor Ray Nagin; Governor Bobby Jindal; Ralph F. Boyd, Chairman of the Freddie Mac Foundation; and Malaak Compton-Rock, co- judge on Oprah's Big Give, founder of the Angelrock Project, and wife of comedian Chris Rock.

HOPE worldwide has been active in the Gulf Coast region since Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. Today, the organization continues to serve the region's greatest ongoing needs through volunteer efforts and in partnership with organizations such as ACORN, the Louisiana Family Recovery Corps, and New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, the American Red Cross, and the City of New Orleans. Immediately following the service day, participants will gather for a post-event rally and celebration.

Dedicated to serving the poor and needy, HOPE worldwide is a faith-based relief and development organization founded in 1991. The organization is registered with the U.S. Agency for International Development and has been granted special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. Its global community of employees, trained volunteers and partner organizations bring hope and change lives by providing humanitarian aid on all six inhabited continents. HOPE worldwide has been recognized for outstanding collaboration in addressing social issues in America.

For more information, visit www.hopeww.org.