About Operation Kids/Brees Dream Foundation, Rebuildling Dreams in New Orleans

[neworleanskids]

 It’s been two years since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the surrounding Gulf Coast, but the needs of children there are still great.

Rebuilding efforts are well underway in New Orleans, led by dedicated, caring and hardworking individuals who love their city and its children. They are working on their own or as part of deserving and effective organizations that – often with limited resources – are making a major difference in the lives of children. However many of these programs are in need of financial assistance.

Operation Kids and the Brees Dream Foundation, founded by New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and his wife Brittany, are “Rebuilding Dreams in New Orleans.” Together, we have completed an extensive vetting process and will work with selected New Orleans organizations over the next year and raise $2.5 million dollars to fund and rebuild classroom facilities, athletic facilities, parks and playgrounds, after-school programs, mentoring programs for the intellectually disabled, neighborhood revitalization projects and child care facilities.

"When I look at this city, I try to put myself in everybody's shoes here," Brees says. "We're at a tipping point right now. New Orleans needs something that's going to tip it in the right direction to get people to want to come back.”

Many organizations have raised money to help rebuild New Orleans. But the Operation Kids/Brees Dream Foundation partnership is doing it in very different way:

•We have extensively vetted every project; we’ve visited every location and met with project managers multiple times. We’ve reviewed goals and plans and the desired outcomes for each project. We know the track record of the organization, and the communities that each organization benefits.

•We require complete transparency and accountability for every project. We will track and measure how each dollar contributed is spent. We have total access to every step of the process and can assure donors that all funding is being used effectively and responsibly.

•All supporters of the campaign will be able to track the progress of each project by visiting our web site, http://www.operationkids.org/. They are also encouraged to communicate with Operation Kids if they want to know more about the projects.

•Each project has a set start and end date, and will be completed no later than the spring of 2008.

•Drew and Brittany Brees are personally involved in every stage of the campaign, from project selection to fundraising to project management. They are involved for the long run because they care about New Orleans

"Drew is the hope guy," says Rick Larsen, president of Operation Kids "Drew has this attraction to areas where hope is fading. He wants to give people in those situations reason to hope again. He's one of those rare guys who doesn't think he's entitled to be a famous athlete. He feels like he has this responsibility to do something with that privilege."

The list of organizations receiving initial funding from Operation Kids/Brees Dream Foundation includes:

Beacon of Hope Resource Centers

Best Buddies Louisiana

The Edible Schoolyard at Green Charter School

Greater New Orleans Rebuild Child Care Collaborative

Lusher Charter School

New Orleans Charter Science and Math High School

New Orleans Outreach

New Orleans Recreation Department

*See photo album on "neworleanskids" cafemom hompage  for photos and details about each charity