New Jews of NOLA: High Tide of Volunteerism in the Bayou

More than two years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans is a community in the process of re-imagining itself. The natural disaster left in its wake terrible destruction—and, with it, the rare and tremendous opportunity for rebuilding and reshaping a community, literally from the ground up. Responding to this challenge, there has been an influx into New Orleans of talented young professionals, aka YURPs (young urban rebuilding professionals). A majority moved to the city out of a desire to lend a hand to fellow Americans in rebuilding their city in a socially just way. Others grew up in New Orleans and returned to help the city and their parents rebuild.

Many of these YURPs (five of twelve profiled in August 2007 in the New Orleans Times-Picayune) are Jewish. Their work is not only a natural outlet of the Jewish value of social justice, but it is also a fitting next chapter in the ongoing story of Jews in New Orleans. The community has always been very civically engaged: Jewish philanthropy money helped Dillard University, Touro Hospital, and programs at Tulane University, and Jewish-owned stores were among the first to integrate during the Civil Rights Movement.

Young Jews have come to New Orleans with the aid of traditional organizations, such as Hillel, which organizes trips for college students to engage in social action, and the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, which offers financial incentives encouraging Jews to make a move. Once they join the community, YURPs find New Orleans more than just a place for new ideas, but also a unique juncture where ideas can be turned into action. The organizations they helped develop, just ideas a year ago, now reach thousands of people.

Gill Benedek

Gill first came to New Orleans as part of UMass-Amherst Hillel's spring break trip. Following graduation, he returned with the AmeriCorps Program. He began work with the Neighborhoods Partnership Network (NPN), which educates neighborhood associations about city-wide decisions that will affect daily lives of residents and serves as a forum for neighborhood collaboration. Gill also is a co-founder of the Trumpet, a community-written newspaper which shares stories of New Orleans recovery.

Jess Garz

Jess came to New Orleans to rebuild the city—literally. For her senior thesis in architecture, she worked with a professor with H3 Studios, which holds meetings with residents to gain an understanding of what they would like their neighborhood to look like, and then maps out plans to make it happen. After graduation, she joined H3 Studios and came to New Orleans.

She now coordinates an innovative art collaborative, Transforma, which uses art to rehabilitate neighborhoods. Through creating art studios in poor areas, the collaborative allows local artists to invest in their neighborhoods, transforming them with community gardens and artwork in public spaces.

Jeff Good

Having himself grown up Jewish in New Orleans, Jeff feels passionate about reviving New Orleans' Jewish community. While pursuing a law degree at Tulane, Jeff brings together young Jews currently in the city. He works to bridge the gap between the local Jewish community and the many Jewish graduate students in New Orleans, who may not be thinking of staying in the community long-term. His monthly networking events attract between 50-75 people—numbers he has seen increase as young, socially-minded Jews flooded into New Orleans after Katrina.

Naomi Chalew

Naomi works for Good Work Networks, a nonprofit organization that helps small businesses be sustainable in New Orleans. She works with small day-care providers, assisting them in re-establishing themselves in New Orleans through developing and marketing their businesses and by helping them gain skills in business management.