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Marines

MFR Marines help local residents rebuild their home

20 Oct 2008 | Cpl. Johnathan D. Herring U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve

Marines, sailors and civilian volunteers banded together here on the first and second weekends of October to help local residents repair their home, which had been destroyed in Hurricane Katrina.

Manson McDonald, a 62-year resident of the 9th Ward in East New Orleans, lost his house when the levee broke after Hurricane Katrina’s storm surges. He and his daughter, Jackie Haynes, evacuated to Las Vegas for two years. Haynes cares for her 87-year-old father, who suffers from the beginning stages of dimentia.

“Mr. McDonald has owned this house for 34 years,” said Mary Sarsfield, an Americorps volunteer for Rebuilding Together, a national nonprofit organization that rehabilitates homes for low-income homeowners, particularly the elderly and those with disabilities. “He has really shown us how much he appreciates our help.”

The volunteers helped paint the interior and exterior of the home.

“It’s good for me and the other Marines to give back to the community,” said Sgt. Kenneth Avery, one of the MFR volunteers. “It shows that we have big hearts.”

Haynes says that she has been eagerly waiting to move back into their home.

“The Marines really came at a good time,” said Haynes. “I didn’t know how I was going to be able to get the work finished on my home. They were a real God-send. I have been truly blessed.”

MFR has been steadily helping New Orleans and its surrounding communities get back to normal since the category-three storm ravaged the city on Aug. 29, 2005. The McDonald home is just one of many that the Marines are helping to restore.

If you would like to volunteer, contact the Marine Forces Reserve Public Affairs Office at 504-678-0700.