August 31st, 2023 marked the 18th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the category 5 storm that devastated New Orleans and its surrounding areas in 2005. The storm caused estimated damages of over $81 billion —making it the costliest US hurricane ever, with severe impacts that still persist almost two decades later.

Shirts Across America (SAA) is a Seattle-based philanthropic organization with a mission to rebuild the New Orleans community in the aftermath of hurricanes, especially Hurricane Katrina. Founder Randy Novak started the NPO with his first trip to Gulfport, Mississippi alongside 43 Seattle students, and has since expanded the organization to work with over 4,200 high school students solely in Seattle. Each year, Novak sponsors one week-long trip to New Orleans for teens from the West Bellevue National Charity League (NCL) and National League of Young Men (NLYM) chapters. The (roughly) 50 teen and adult volunteers partner with local nonprofits, such as Habitat for Humanity, to complete building projects in communities, especially in the Lower 9th Ward.

“Depending on what state the homes are in when we arrive, projects can range from painting, drywall, flooring, siding, and even landscaping,” chaperone Bird Nelson explains. “Shirts Across America has participated in building dozens of homes throughout New Orleans so it's always fun to go back and see a home we may have worked on during a previous trip”.

 

This year, the SAA trip started in Montgomery, Alabama. The teens were able to immerse themselves in the history of the Civil Rights Movement as they explored the city and monuments located at the historical sites. The group visited historical locations such as Civil Rights Memorial and the Rosa Parks Museum and even walked across the Edmund Pettus. “A memorable event was a private show by the Treme Brass Band at St. Augustine Catholic Church in New Orleans,” Nelson recalls. “The kids were called up to sing You Are My Sunshine as well as What a Wonderful Life.”

 

The volunteers then traveled to New Orleans and were split into two groups to assist in different projects around the city. The first group worked with Youth Rebuilding New Orleans (YRNO), a group focused on improving the homes of first responders where the ground and sidewalks flood with the slightest rainfall. “The team worked to jackhammer the sidewalks, pickax the ground, and sledgehammer concrete,” chaperone Holly Masters describes. “They laid down new gravel to help with drainage and new landscaping. It was a rewarding experience to work with the local youth.”

 

The second group focused on the Lower 9th Ward, a community hit especially hard by Hurricane Katrina that has struggled to rebuild. Working alongside Habitat for Humanity staff, the NCL/NLYM teens painted the interiors of 4 new units in 2 duplexes the nonprofit was building. In addition to the days filled with laborious activities, the heat index in New Orleans was at 115 degrees—harsh conditions for any outdoor work. The trip highlighted the volunteers’ commitment to helping the New Orleans communities and their persistence to complete the projects despite the severe heat.

 

Bellevue High Sophomore Madelyne Masters recounts an impactful conversation with a local teen while on the SAA trip this year: “I talked with a volunteer from YRNO who lived through Hurricane Katrina. He shared with me how he was a 5th grader at the time and had attended school the day before Katrina was supposed to hit. During the school day, everyone was evacuated to the Super Dome, and the children were then further evacuated to Texas. In the process, he was separated from his mom. By luck, when he arrived in Texas his relatives saw him on the news and were able to pick him up from the stadium. It was eye-opening to hear a first-hand account of Katrina’s impact, and I cannot begin to imagine how scared he must have been."

 

Throughout the week in Montgomery and New Orleans, the West Bellevue NCL/NLYM teens learned hands-on maintenance skills and gained a deeper understanding of the devastation in America's past and present. “If we don’t examine the past honestly, we can’t move forward,” trip organizer Kea Rensch remarks. “Giving our kids the opportunity to experience history in person, where events happened, brings it to life. They learn and share with others, which only makes the future brighter and prevents history from ever repeating itself.”

 

The SAA pre-Covid list of Partner Schools and Organizations are Bellarmine Preparatory School, Bishop Blanchet High School, Holy Names Academy, NLYM (West Bellevue Chapter), NCL (West Bellevue Chapter), O’Dea High School, Olympia High School, Roosevelt High School, Seattle Preparatory School, and Sumner High School. 

For more information or questions on the West Bellevue NLYM/NCL affiliation and history with SAA, please email Kea Rensch at kbrensch@me.com. 

Adult immersive trips have also recently been added to SAA’s lineup—visit https://shirtsacrossamerica.org/ for more information!