RHINO 12

What is RHINO?

Rebuilding Hope in New Orleans (RHINO) is an outreach ministry of Saint Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church organized in response to the effects of Hurricane Katrina.

RHINO's mission is to organize, host, and lead volunteers from the local community and around the country in rebuilding of New Orleans and through these activities serve as a witness to our faith and the love of God. Almost as soon as the storm had passed, the leadership of St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian recognized that an immediate need of homeowners would be assistance in gutting their homes. To date, RHINO has hosted over 1,400 volunteers from 30 states; these volunteers have cleared out and gutted 200 homes and built one new home. Nearly 700 more volunteers are already scheduled to work with RHINO through the end of 2008.

As RHINO took shape, we were already looking beyond the clean up phase to the rebuilding of homes. St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church has partnered with New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity several times over the years, and this is a partnership that has only deepened since Katrina. Throughout the RHINO program, volunteers worked with the New Orleans Area chapter of Habitat for Humanity (NOAHH) to build the first homes in NOAHH's Musician's Village and to build one new home in the Hollygrove neighborhood.

For more information, visit the RHINO website here!

Who Are the RHINO 12?

Jenny Warren I am eager to go back to serve with RHINO again, because it feels important for us not to forget the reality that remains long after the headlines have decided it isn't news. It is important to show the people of New Orleans that they are not forgotten. It's important for me, and for us all, to get out of our routines and comfort zones and serve in new ways. And I'm so excited to take other F&C folks along, and to share this kind of faith adventure with them!

Mac McKay I'm excited to go to New Orleans because I want to help the people there who are in desperate need of housing. My construction experience with Habitat for Humanity and at other job sites has prepared me for such an adventure. And at age 67, I believe this is my calling for the retirement stage of my life. I can't wait to begin!!

Annabelle Kressman "I volunteered to go on this trip because my soul needs me to. I am so blessed in so many ways that I feel fortunate to be able to give back by doing whatever I can to those who have lost so much. I have waited for an opportunity to do something ever since this disaster and finally I have my chance. The added bonus will be spending time with this group of fellow seekers. How lucky is that? I can't help but grow on all fronts."

Rob Laughman I was able to meet Maude Renfroe last year. She and her husband worked hard to scrape money together to buy a home in NOLA, not unlike most working class Americans, only to have the home destroyed by Katrina. She is a fellow human being and needs my help. Her story is repeated over and over again, in and around NOLA. If my journey through Christianity has taught me anything, its that Christ came here and exhorted us to take care of one another. How can I not go?

Leigh Jefferies-Weinfeld In the "Crescent City", in which I once lived, on a treeless street, basking in the autumn sun, I see a group of people standing together gazing upon a homestead under construction. The onlookers include those who will give time and energy to help complete the building, along with those who will receive this house and make it their home, marking the ending of a long period of being uprooted, disconnected from the place to which their heart belongs. In this scene, I see the givers and receivers exchange smiles, hand shakes, and hugs as they share a common unspoken vision of the promise and possibilities that the home will give its new dwellers. Yet all in the group are truly givers and receivers; all share a sense of unity and purpose, a sense of wholeness and peace, and all ponder - God is with us....God does provide. This vision is what calls to me.

Gary Cooper "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." I am truly blessed and want to help my 'neighbors' in New Orleans in their time of extended need. I would hope for the same if I were in such a difficult situation. My service for the Rhino auction will be yard work for 1 weekend day (and I plan to convince Ron to help, so you may get 2 for the bid of 1!).

Irma Jimenez I want to go because Father Jehovah and Brother Jesus Christ told me, "It is time for you to go, you are ready to go on this trip; so that you may help your brothers and sisters in need." Now I know the meaning of true happiness. I also know how to sing and laugh. I know how to forgive, but most of all, how to live in peace with myself and the whole world. These feelings I want to share with others, so that they might also feel it. It's a great feeling - the Holy Spirit! Amen!

Doug Gerdts The devastation of New Orleans was due to a weather event, engineering miscalculations, and years of political and social neglect of some of that city's most underserved residents. The prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures have much to say about a government that doesn't care for all of its citizens and that caters only to those of means and position. None of those writers were more eloquent or pointed than the author of the last section of the book of Isaiah wherein the 58th chapter it says: "Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in." That person was writing about rebuilding Jerusalem after the Babylonian Exile -- but despite the millenia that have gone by, they still speak with impact to us today. I'm going to New Orleans to help restore the breach, to rebuild streets to live in, and then work to reform a social system that believed "a rising tide floats all boats" while forgetting that not everyone had a boat.

Mary Spencer I feel a genuine need to go to New Orleans. I have a personal desire to help a family who because of events outside of their own control is broken. Broken not necessarily in sprit but in place. A place where they come together at the end of the day and just be together. A place where their family memories were made and the place where the new memories will begin. I can't kid myself, this is as much for me as it is for them. We all know that home is where the heart is and I feel so grateful for this opportunity to add a little of my heart to someone else's home.

Dick Stell My first trip to New Orleans last year was a real eye-opener. Two years after Katrina to still see such devastation I was really shocked. We had done a good job and the day I left New Orleans to come home, I knew if it was possible I would go back to help again.

Sara Snowden We all know there is a big difference between a house and a home. For me, that difference became very real in 1993 when an electrical fire destroyed half of my family's home. For more than six months my parents and I didn't have a house, but our community of friends made sure we never felt homeless. Rebuilding a house takes plans, permits, supplies, and muscle while rebuilding a home requires a strong foundation built on faith and love. Too many residents of New Orleans and the surrounding areas are still without houses as a result of Katrina's destruction. It is my hope that the time we spend building houses will help some residents understand that they are certainly not homeless.

Emily Ferrell

If you'd like to see the type of work we'll be doing, please click here to visit the blog of the 2007 trip!

Jenny Warren		I am eager to go back to serve with RHINO again, because it feels important for us not to forget the reality that remains long after the headlines have decided it isn't news. It is important to show the people of New Orleans that they are not forgotten. It's important for me, and for us all, to get out of our routines and comfort zones and serve in new ways. And I'm so excited to take other F&C folks along, and to share this kind of faith adventure with them!
Mac McKay		I'm excited to go to New Orleans because I want to help the people there who are in desperate need of housing. My construction experience with Habitat for Humanity and at other job sites has prepared me for such an adventure. And at age 67, I believe this is my calling for the retirement stage of my life. I can't wait to begin!!
Annabelle Kressman		"I volunteered to go on this trip because my soul needs me to. I am so blessed in so many ways that I feel fortunate to be able to give back by doing whatever I can to those who have lost so much. I have waited for an opportunity to do something ever since this disaster and finally I have my chance. The added bonus will be spending time with this group of fellow seekers. How lucky is that? I can't help but grow on all fronts."
Rob Laughman		I was able to meet Maude Renfroe last year. She and her husband worked hard to scrape money together to buy a home in NOLA, not unlike most working class Americans, only to have the home destroyed by Katrina. She is a fellow human being and needs my help. Her story is repeated over and over again, in and around NOLA. If my journey through Christianity has taught me anything, its that Christ came here and exhorted us to take care of one another. How can I not go?
Leigh Jefferies-Weinfeld		In the "Crescent City", in which I once lived, on a treeless street, basking in the autumn sun, I see a group of people standing together gazing upon a homestead under construction. The onlookers include those who will give time and energy to help complete the building, along with those who will receive this house and make it their home, marking the ending of a long period of being uprooted, disconnected from the place to which their heart belongs. In this scene, I see the givers and receivers exchange smiles, hand shakes, and hugs as they share a common unspoken vision of the promise and possibilities that the home will give its new dwellers. Yet all in the group are truly givers and receivers; all share a sense of unity and purpose, a sense of wholeness and peace, and all ponder - God is with us....God does provide. This vision is what calls to me.
Gary Cooper		"You shall love your neighbor as yourself." I am truly blessed and want to help my 'neighbors' in New Orleans in their time of extended need. I would hope for the same if I were in such a difficult situation. My service for the Rhino auction will be yard work for 1 weekend day (and I plan to convince Ron to help, so you may get 2 for the bid of 1!).
Irma Jimenez		I want to go because Father Jehovah and Brother Jesus Christ told me, "It is time for you to go, you are ready to go on this trip; so that you may help your brothers and sisters in need." Now I know the meaning of true happiness. I also know how to sing and laugh. I know how to forgive, but most of all, how to live in peace with myself and the whole world. These feelings I want to share with others, so that they might also feel it. It's a great feeling - the Holy Spirit! Amen!
Doug Gerdts		The devastation of New Orleans was due to a weather event, engineering miscalculations, and years of political and social neglect of some of that city's most underserved residents. The prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures have much to say about a government that doesn't care for all of its citizens and that caters only to those of means and position. None of those writers were more eloquent or pointed than the author of the last section of the book of Isaiah wherein the 58th chapter it says: "Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in." That person was writing about rebuilding Jerusalem after the Babylonian Exile -- but despite the millenia that have gone by, they still speak with impact to us today. I'm going to New Orleans to help restore the breach, to rebuild streets to live in, and then work to reform a social system that believed "a rising tide floats all boats" while forgetting that not everyone had a boat.
Mary Spencer		I feel a genuine need to go to New Orleans. I have a personal desire to help a family who because of events outside of their own control is broken. Broken not necessarily in sprit but in place. A place where they come together at the end of the day and just be together. A place where their family memories were made and the place where the new memories will begin. I can't kid myself, this is as much for me as it is for them. We all know that home is where the heart is and I feel so grateful for this opportunity to add a little of my heart to someone else's home.
Dick Stell		My first trip to New Orleans last year was a real eye-opener. Two years after Katrina to still see such devastation I was really shocked. We had done a good job and the day I left New Orleans to come home, I knew if it was possible I would go back to help again.
Sara Snowden		We all know there is a big difference between a house and a home. For me, that difference became very real in 1993 when an electrical fire destroyed half of my family's home. For more than six months my parents and I didn't have a house, but our community of friends made sure we never felt homeless. Rebuilding a house takes plans, permits, supplies, and muscle while rebuilding a home requires a strong foundation built on faith and love. Too many residents of New Orleans and the surrounding areas are still without houses as a result of Katrina's destruction. It is my hope that the time we spend building houses will help some residents understand that they are certainly not homeless.
Emily Ferrell