Reunion Arena

On Labor Day, I went down to Reunion Arena to volunteer. They needed the help. Within a couple of hours, they were so many volunteers that they had to begin turning them away.

The place I volunteered at was not inside Reunion Arena or the Convention Center. Those are the shelters. Outside, in the ground level of a parking garage, was the area where New Orleans residents waited for transportation to to other cities, and could pick up supplies before heading out. There were sections throughout the garage for each type of necessity. Women's Shoes, Boy's Shirts, Food, Prayer Services, Diapers, Formula, all with many people shuffling around with large shopping bags donated by The Container Store. New merchandise was also available, including underwear, socks, soap, washcloths, towels, etc.

With about 50 volunteers, we unloaded a semi trailer full of baby items in about 20 minutes. Inside the trailer, we had two human chains running down each side, with a person on the outside for each line, and a man in the middle in case either of the two weren't available for whatever reason.

The rest of the day was spent regulating stocked merchandise to the stations, so that they wouldn't have too many boxes crowding around them. This included moving large stacks of merchandise around with nothing but arms and a couple of dollies. We also directed people to the stations when they needed a particular item.

Occasionally, you would hear an announcement like, "Anyone wanting to relocate to Arizona or Southern California, come to the stage." It was interesting to see all the different people trying to find a good pair of shoes for their baby, or looking for the right kind of formula. One man was so exhausted, he passed out with his bag of goods on a stack of our boxes. A photographer came by and snapped some shots of him, then started talking to him. Two guys came over right after that and started praying with him.

It's been awhile since I worked that hard.