Tomb It May Concern

Today the group visited Lafayette Cemetery in Downtown New Orleans to help clean up the city's unique graves. The cemeteries are above ground mausoleums, typically consisting of family and society members who share a grave site. This unusual way of burying loved ones serves a practical function of keeping the deceased from being completely submerged in water while also paying homage to Spanish colonial rule during the late 18th century. We worked with Emily Ford, volunteer coordinator for Save Our Cemeteries, a nonprofit organization devoted to preserving New Orleans's extraordinary graveyards. Half of the group painted the gates of a butcher society mausoleum, while the other half picked up trash and clipped weeds on and around the grave sites. The restoration of these cemeteries is integral to the health of the surrounding community because they serve as local tourist attractions and continue a centuries old architectural tradition unique to the region. Coordinator Emily Ford also made the argument that the community benefits when cemeteries are taken care of because it gives a place of pride and allows loved ones to remember the deceased. 

After some sightseeing at the original house where American Horror Story: Coven was filmed and a picnic lunch in Coliseum Square Park, the group visited our friends at ARC, the local Mardi Gras bead recycling center where we were the previous day. Since we had already been there a day earlier, the group jumped right into sorting beads. Many of us reconnected with the workers of ARC, who have intellectual disabilities, while sorting the many beads into six categories. After sorting multiple tons of beads, some of the group began to bag the assorted beads into thirty pound bags. 

To get pumped for this amazing day of service, many of the members decided to have a 2000's pop music throwback in Trip Leader Philip's van. We rocked out to some classic tunes by Justin, Britney, Ke$ha, Spice Girls, and Miley Cyrus accompanied by some rather sultry dancing by Cullen, our designated DJ. Later on Ketola and Ryan were given quite the scare by a Jane-in-the-bead-box. Jane hid in a huge box of Mardi Gras beads and jumped up to the bewilderment of Ryan and Ketola. After a long day of service, local alumni Archie and Carol treated the group to some authentic beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde (Thank you so much for your generosity and hospitality!). Yet another reminder of how close knit and far-ranging the Volunteer family is!