Heartfelt thanks from Friends Relief Fund's recipients:
Can't thank you all enough for what you have done for so many. Every bit helps. It amazes us to see the outpouring of support - especially for John - when we were doing exactly what you guys would have done in the same situation - stick to it and do your job during most important news event in your readership's history. Greg Thomas
It amazes me of how generous people have been! May God Bless you all!
Thanks, Jorge and Ana Courtade
Thanks for the check. Every check sent has contributed to my rebuilding. this one will go towards floor molding. I hope to be in my house by summer but I am one of the lucky ones in St. Bernard parish, as there are many that still live in front of their gutted
houses waiting for the Road Home program to help them out. Its getting better but it will take many years to get anywhere near normal again. Thanks again for thinking of us.
Yours truly, Jay Talazac
Thank you so much for continuing to think about us. Even 18 months later, the ongoing physical and emotion toll is hard to describe. We are actually in our home that had 9 feet of water but have to deal with empty homes on three sides of us. I continue to cover all news in St. Bernard for four days of the week, but since the storm I have had to work every Saturday on general assignment news coverage at the main desk because we have such a reduced population in the parish I live in and cover. Karen Turni Bazile
You guys are fabulous. So you know, I am going to use this money to feed 54 hungry student
volunteers from Kenyon College, my alma mata, who are coming here on alternative spring break to gut houses. I'm giving them jambalaya from Mother's and a real shower (if they want one!) on Thursday night, to give them a break from the Salvation Army, where they are staying, and the chance to decompress in a "real" house that has been rebuilt after the storm. So I will tell them about you, and your generosity. We are indeed the recipients of much largesse down here and we appreciate it. Thanks so much, Renee Peck
It's so wonderful to know that even this long after that fateful day we are still being remembered and people are still being so giving and generous. The sad reality is that even this long after many are still struggling to get back on their feet. There are so many obstacles to overcome and unless you were directly effected some tend to lose sight of the issues people are faced with. Many thanks from the bottom of my heart. Leslie Dorcey
Its amazing how long it takes to resolve life and to live during this event (that seems to be ongoing.... forever!!!) and you begin to think the world has forgotten about Katrina and how far we still are from normalcy. Its so nice to know that people are still telling the world that we are still in need. Our city has only made about a 5-10% improvement overall. Its been nearly 18 months and I personally am still not in a house of my own (I'm still with my sister), and I'm still fighting insurance stuff (if you can believe that!), and a FEMA trailer never materialized yet we were part of ground zero in St. Bernard. And yet I think the perception nationally is that we are back to normal. Please tell your fellow fund members that we really do appreciate the continued effort. Our lives are still in upheaval and its truly refreshing to know that others see what we see (that the work continues, the rebuilding is not fast and that hope is the only thing we really do still hold onto. Thank you again to you and the crew. Nona Columbo
Thanks for doing this. Sometimes it feels like we are forgotten. Things are not back to normal My life is still NOT nearly back to normal. Every step you make is sooooo hard. The SBA is difficult to deal with...the Road Home is not helping...that is a big disappointment. This so kind of you to do for us. Joanne Degan
This news has great timing because I have exhausted all of my savings and insurance money and still have several thousand dollars due to the contractor. L.R.A. told me I was approved for a loan and would have a closing last December and nothing has happened. My homeowners insurance company, Travelers, just sent me a cancellation notice because the last piece of mail was sent back to them during my move transition, so I'm now battling that issue as well. Sorry to go on and on, but I'm really frustrated right now. I feel like I'm being penalized for trying to come back. Rachael and I are the first people on our block actually living in a home. I say all of this to express my sincere gratitude to The Friends of The Times-Picayune. Unfortunately, my story is all too common. Many of my colleagues are going through similar circumstances or worse over a year and a half after this catastrophic event. Please let the folks at this fundraiser know how grateful we all are for their generosity and for keeping us in their thoughts all this time. Dawn Buckley
Thank you so much for the check. Our house should be fixed up in a month or two - in time for the start of school for my daughter. It's hard to believe it has been almost a year since the flood. The city is still so messed up. It is even worse in the 95 degree heat and dusty haze over the half populated city. I'm hoping for a better New Orleans in the future but I have lost a lot of faith in the city government - I see bright spots but also a lot of the same old problems on top of the almost insurmountable set back from the hurricane. We really appreciate your support.
I want to thank you all from my sincere heart. You all have been very helpful to me and my family making life much easier during this recovery period. I'm so grateful for everything that everybody did in the past and what you all doing now for me. May God keeping shining his Blessing on you all for the kindness that everybody has shown.
With Great Appreciation, Glenn Pinera
Thank you so very much for the check. My daughter's birthday is today so it was very sweet music to her ears. She graduated from high school on May 12, and we moved back to New Orleans in a trailer in our driveway. Let me tell you that is a charm - so very little space - but we are back. That commute 7 days a week was wearing me out. Now I will try to get my house redone without getting ripped off. Myself and two friends did everything we could physically do to help each other out. Now we are at the point where we have to pay.
Mira Mae Cosey
To all who have cared, thank you so much for the kindness and support. I received the check Wednesday Dec. 21. The first thing I said to my wife was "Now I can replace my air compressor that was stolen when I while I was working in Houma. Funny thing is, I really don't need that compressor right now. It is real nice to have especially with all the flats we are getting down here. If I did not receive that check right before Christmas I probably would have my compressor. In seeing the need of others, I will go to Walmart and purchase some kids bikes and bring them to the children living in tents down in St. Bernard parish.We have already purchased 200.00 for some gift cards of our money to give to the parents before we received this check. We intended to do this on Christmas eve, so now we will just have more to offer. I know you gave this money to help us, and I will gladly reimburse you after the holidays. After all, what I went thru that Tuesday morning on St Louis street. Being stranded with another employee who could not swim. The two hours it took us to get back to the TP and making it thru the flood seeing the bodies, the looters the shooters. I am just happy I have a chance too see another Christmas. God bless all.
Thanks...I have received the check. Please pass on my thanks and gratitude to the many people that reached out to help us. The thoughtfulness and generosity of people all over has humbled me. There have been times in my life when I was touched by situations either close to me or in other areas of the world and I gave to the people in need. I didn’t expect anything in return from them but, never in my life did I ever expect to be on the receiving end of someone else’s generosity. I pray that you and those that came to our need will be blessed for your generosity.
My heartfelt thanks for the check I received. It gives me chills to think of those people who have given so generously to the Times-Picayune fund, may all of them have a healthy, happy new year!
Your kindness, energy and charity are most appreciated. I received my distribution yesterday and was again reminded how fortunate I am to have friends afar such as you and hundreds of others unknown to me.
I received the second check from 'Friends of the T.P. Fund', words cannot express the gratitude for those who have given so generously. Marlena Cox
Thanks for keeping up the cause. We appreciate it. After all this time, you would think things are back on track, but they're not. I'm still waitng for my SBA loan, can you believe that? I have tons of relatives still in FEMA trailers, and many are still stuggling to get back on their feet.
It can get depressing at times, but I try to count my blessings. When I got your message, it put a smile on my face. It feels good knowing there are people out there who still care.You'll never know how grateful I am for the generosity of everyone who has given to help this cause. It means more than you can ever know. Bless you all. Leslie Dorcey
To the Friends of The Times-Picayune and the hundreds of companies and individuals worldwide who have opened their hearts and wallets to all of us at The Times-Picayune, we humbly say thank you. Thank you for your support and prayers during these difficult months following Hurricane Katrina. Your kindness and generosity will be justly rewarded, I'm certain of that. You all make me proud to say I work for The Times-Picayune and play a small part in our industry. My family will be leaving Houston and returning to New Orleans for good on Dec. 18. We have spent the past 3 1/2 months in a "loaner'' home in Webster, Texas, halfway between Houston and Galveston off I-45. I remain covering the Saints and commute by car on a weekly basis between San Antonio, where the team has relocated, and Webster. My wife, Jennie, returned to New Orleans the first week of October to resume her job as a social worker in the Jefferson Parish School System. Our two youngest girls, Jessica (21) and Sarah (17), remained behind to attend massage therapy school and high school, respectively, in Houston. The kids have been real troopers through some awfully stressful and sobering times. Yet in many ways it has been a richly rewarding experience for all of us. We have rented a shotgun house in Algiers Point in New Orleans, just across the Mississippi River in full view of the CBD, French Quarter and Jackson Square. We are staying two doors down from T-P photographer Susan Poag on Olivier Street. My family is anxious to return home and be a part of the city's rebuilding process. It will be a slow and arduous undertaking but we are a resilient bunch as many of you know and I remain optimistic. Happy Holidays and a joyous 2006 to all. We will never forget. Brian Allee-Walsh
I do not know how to say thank you in a way to show just how greatful we are for having such people as you and those others that contributed as our friends. Caring and thoughtful people such as this should be told in person and not through an e-mail that can't possibly show or convey the heart felt gratitude and emotion that something like this brings on people who have been through such trying times and who continue to have to hurdle red tape and set backs on a daily basis. To know that there are people within our own widespread industry who truly care enough to help, makes the hurdles seem that much more easier to cross. Once again I send you heart felt thanks from my wife and I. If ever there is some way I can repay through needed help to others in the future do not hesitate to call on me.
I just wanted to thank all of you for everything you have done to help us here. You will never know how much you have helped me and my son with the contributions you have sent to us. We can never say thank you enough. Your dedication and commitment to helping others will not go unnoticed. There is a special blessing from God for all of you and I thank God for you all everyday. May God continue to bless all of you. Again I say THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART. Judy Lea