Dear Friends of Bayou Grace,
Things are just chugging along here in the 5 Bayous. We are excited to be making a huge difference in the lives of some of our residents – that is with the help of a few friends… friends just like you. If you’d like to know more just read on, and a Happy Belated Easter!
The Bayou Grace Team
Bayou Grace Honored by Fire Department
The Bayou Grace Team was honored to receive an award from the Little Caillou Volunteer Fire Department (LCVFD) in March. Chief Marty Thibodeaux said President Mona Blanchard wanted to thank Bayou Grace for the work it does in the community. Marty stated, “helping the Fire Department helps the community of Little Caillou/Chauvin…and helps people get back to a normal life.”
In a herculean, heroic effort, the LCVFD, and many local residents and out-of-state volunteers battled fiercely against Hurricane Ike to stave off the impending doom of its tidal surge and ultimate flooding of the 5 Bayous. It is a little strange for them to be thanking us. It is Bayou Grace and the residents of Chauvin that the LCVFD protects that should be thanking them for the tremendous effort they give keeping us safe from fire, water, and all things in between. Bayou Grace did all that it could to get life jackets for the effort, and continues to work in partnership to help in any way it can.
On behalf of the entire Bayou Grace Team, and the residents of Little Caillou/Chauvin, thanks!!!
LCC Takes Care of the Bayou Kids
After a short talk with John LeBlanc, Ms. Dianna Bonnefield, Deaconess and Volunteer Coordinator for Lutheran Church Charities, had a great idea. Why not send the kids of the 5 Bayous a little care package from Lutheran Church Charities.
She got the ball rolling with the help of former teacher and LCC volunteer Ruth Beierwaltes. Due to their efforts, Bayou Grace received a package of love from LCC. Aside from books to read at the daycare centers that Bayou Grace’s Project Learn/Family Literacy program have adopted, the package contained coloring books and even colors to distribute to the kids.
Thanks to Dianna and Ruth for all their hard work and such a special gift.
Partners in Literacy
Bayou Grace first met Paul Rodriguez in 2006. He was in Mississippi touring the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina when his host suggested he visit the PDA (Presbyterian Disaster Assistance) camp in Houma. At the PDA camp, he was introduced to Bayou Grace’s Board President Mike Pellegrin. Mike offered to take Paul on a tour of the bayous and that’s when his “heart melted” as he began to meet the people of the 5 Bayous. The devastation struck him as he could barely believe that the people who were so friendly and caring were so heavily devastated by circumstances beyond their control.
The experience touched him so much he decided on a second visit to offer any help he could to the bayous. He stayed at the Recreation Center around the corner from Bayou Grace’s office, and toured more of the bayous, wetlands, and people. During this visit, Paul learned more about the ecology of coastal Louisiana. Inspired, he resolved to tell the story to the masses, but how?
After writing several short stories, he came upon an idea with legs. He developed a story cute enough to be loved by children, but educational enough to have an impact on all of its readers. On his third visit to Bayou Grace in late 2008, Paul introduced the Bayou Grace team to “Goldysocks and the 5 Bayous.”
This story is rich with information, highlighting such local favorites as “the pig,” the nickname of our local Piggly Wiggly grocery store, and illustrates our many unique bridges, wildlife and geography. Even more, “Goldysocks and the 5 Bayous” engages the reader to think about coastal land loss and erosion. The book is out now in a coloring book format, but Paul wants our “State of Grace” readers to know that he is finalizing a full color version which should be in print soon.
Paul spends time visiting schools presenting the book to young readers in an effort to help bring the plight of our disappearing wetlands to an entirely new generation of advocates, the children of the world. During his most recent visit, Paul spent time visiting local schools in the 5 Bayous to introduce the book here as well. The people of the 5 Bayous touched his heart so much that he generously donates a portion of the proceeds from each book to Bayou Grace so that we can continue our good works on the bayous. If you’d like a copy, contact Paul at rodro@aol.com.
Common Threads Create Story Tapestries
International Storyteller, Dancer, Visual Artist and Musician Arianna Ross traveled from Maryland in March to perform, tell stories and lead community-based art projects. The event was hosted in two locations in the bayous- the Dulac Community Center and the Recreation Center in Smithridge. The events were sponsored by the Houma Regional Arts Council and were facilitated in the bayous by Bayou Grace. In total, about 50 children and adults participated in the bayou events. All those who were present participated in an artist-guided community project that will be on display at the 2009 Chauvin Folk Art Festival and Blessing of the Fleet Celebration at the Kenny Hill Sculpture Garden on April 19th. The performance and event guided participants to tell stories about themselves and create an art piece they felt reflected their community.
According to Effie Bennet, Miss Effie to us locals, Arianna was a good storyteller and “the children hung on her every word.” More importantly though, Miss Effie noticed that Arianna “was able to pick out a few “special needs” kids and took extra time with the kids that needed her the most.”
Great job and thanks Arianna! We hope to see you again soon. For more information about Arianna Ross, click here.
For more information about the 2009 Chauvin Folk Art Festival and Blessing of the Fleet Celebration, click here.
Who Needs Rest?
Certainly not Bayou Grace’s Volunteer Coordinator Diane Huhn…
Bayou Grace’s volunteers were busy as beavers throughout the first quarter of 2009. Since February 15th, Bayou Grace has had volunteers from various teams every day for a solid 5 weeks.
Last month we reported that teams were working on the homes of three of our residents. We are glad to report that Miss Walterine is just waiting to have her home lifted out of the harm of recurring floodwaters. The process is under way and actual “lift off” may begin as early as late May or early June.
A volunteer team from St. John’s Lutheran, LaGrange, IL has kept work at Miss Heather’s home on track. They completed some drywall work in the kitchen and prepped the back of the house for painting by taking down a number of tree limbs and scraping. A volunteer team from Trinity Lutheran, Utica, MI will be arriving on April 12th and we hope that the weather will cooperate to finish painting the outside of the house.
Huge advances were made at Rodney & Jackie’s house.Trinity Lutheran, from Midland, MI, did an amazing job of transforming the inside of the house (with a little help from the Refuge group of Northern Illinois University), but had a few minor jobs that they weren’t able to finish up before their return to Michigan.
The team from St. John’s, LaGrange, IL arrived the day after Trinity left and was able to take over where Trinity left off. St. John’s brought a donation from the sale of their Christmas Cards (in honor of the late Pastor David L. Smith) and were able to use some of that donation to purchase additional windows, trim, light fixtures, dressers for each bedroom, and fabric to make beautiful curtains for each room. Pastor Smith was an enthusiastic supporter of Bayou Grace and made a huge impact on many bayou families during his numerous volunteer mission trips. To learn more about how you can help support Bayou Grace through purchasing note cards, Christmas cards, and photographs from St. John LaGrange, click here.
On a side note, Miss Walterine supplied the team with the use of one her sewing machines to make the curtains.
Once the finishing touches were complete, students from Memorial Lutheran Church of Iowa State University came in to lend a hand moving furniture back in to the house and clearing debris from the yard. Now that the interior is finished, we want the exterior to reflect the beautiful home within. The team from Trinity Lutheran, Utica, MI is slated to paint the outside of the home during the week of April 13th. Here’s hoping for sunny skies and beautiful bayou breezes!
Bayou Grace also had a couple of volunteer teams working with Reverend Fred and Miss Rose in Smithridge. Both the Refuge and Memorial Lutheran student groups worked on drywall and painting. Reverend Fred has been doing much of the work himself, but due to a heart condition the extra hands have certainly helped him out.
While some of the crew from Memorial Lutheran worked at Reverend Fred’s, a few members of the team worked down the street at Miss Effie’s. Miss Effie had some roof damage from the recent hurricanes and as a result had some water damage to some of her ceiling tiles. She recently was able to have a new roof installed so it was a good time to replace the damaged ceiling tiles without worry of additional damage due to leakage.
Putting an Education to Good Use
Bayou Grace matched Chantel and Lake, a 5 year old brain cancer victim, with 4 students from Memorial Lutheran of Iowa State in Ames, Iowa. The students, 3 of which are pursuing degrees in engineering, began the construction of a handicap ramp for the 5 year old Lake. The team assessed the building site and the type of equipment Lake uses, drew up their plans, ordered up the materials and got busy. The team did a beautiful job!
How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these. ~George Washington Carver
