Community Organizations
Contact info
Gill Benedek or Mario Perkins
504-940-2207
3500 Canal St. 2nd Floor
New Orleans, LA 70119
Website: http://www.npnnola.com
Classification
Services Offered
Planning District:
4
Ward:
4
Zip Codes:
70119
Boundaries:
Orleans Parish
Council Representative:
Arnie Fielkow, Jackie Clarkson
Police Precinct:
1
President / Director:
Timolynn Sams
The Neighborhoods Partnership Network (NPN) is a nonprofit, 501c3 organization consisting of a citywide network of neighborhoods that was established after the Hurricane Katrina disaster to facilitate neighborhood collaboration, increase access to government and information, and strengthen the voices of individuals and communities across New Orleans.
NPN’s mission is to improve the quality of life by engaging New Orleanians in neighborhood revitalization and civic processes. NPN consists of a board of community leaders reflective of neighborhoods throughout the city and a diverse staff immersed in coalition building, public and government relations. NPN envisions a New Orleans where all neighborhoods are a great place to live.
See Community Partners Page
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Fax: 504-940-2208
December 3rd 2008
The NPN Education Advisory Task Force, composed of neighborhood residents and nonprofit staff, had a successful meeting November 25th. Among the points of discussion were:
We are preparing to invite neighborhood leaders to apply for Neighborhood Educator Fellowships, a year-long leadership development program within Capacity College. Fellows will receive development training, prepare and teach a Capacity College workshop and meet with regional/national experts and leaders. If you are interested or would like to nominate someone who you think would be an excellent Fellow please email
November 11th 2008
NPN’s Executive Director, Timolynn Sams, was recently named one of “50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World” by Utne Reader. Sams was featured in a section alongside Brahm Ahmadi, cofounder of People’s Grocery in West Oakload, California. Click here for the online version of the full article.
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GROWING THE GRASS ROOTS
The mendacious politician who belittles the role of community organizers should hoof it to People’s Grocery in West Oakland, California, where Brahm Ahmadi leads the crusade for food justice.
What started as a few people dissatisfied with their lack of access to fresh produce is now a model for how to integrate a sustainable local food system into an inner-city community. Ahmadi stresses the need to “build a set of choices first, and then enable individuals to make those choices for themselves.” He’ll soon take on a new role as CEO of the first community retail market when it rolls out over the next two years.
Elsewhere, another solution-oriented movement is making headway under the direction of native New Orleanian Timolynn Sams. After Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on her city, Sams wrote to the Neighborhoods Partnership Network, asking to be involved with the organization through AmeriCorps. Instead, they put her in charge.
Once leaders truly empathize with citizens, they can leverage the people’s frustrations and make change, says Sams, who faces the same struggles with overcrowded schools and power outages as do the people she serves.
She describes New Orleans as a “laboratory for the entire country.” While the challenges of natural disasters and institutional bungling are universal, what makes Louisiana special is its citizenry’s uncanny resilience and generations of community ties, which have linked to form an unbreakable bond.
Sams knows there will always be another storm but remains upbeat about the soul of her city. As for the rest of the country? She admits to being “a little concerned.”
October 27th 2008
Operation REACH’s Gulfsouth Youth Action Fund
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Hamilton Simons-Jones
October 23, 2008
(504) 529-1722 ext. 110
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Operation REACH, Inc Seeks Outstanding Youth to Serve on Grant Awards Panel
New Orleans, LA—Operation REACH, Inc is pleased to announce a call for nominations for members of the Gulfsouth Youth Action Fund Youth Advisory Board, a youth philanthropy program that awarded over $12,500 in grants last year to local youth-led and youth-driven organizations. Operation REACH is seeking energetic, community-oriented youth who are looking to make a difference in the community.
Thirty middle and high school students from around the Greater New Orleans area will be selected to serve on the Gulfsouth Youth Action Fund Youth Advisory Board. The students, who are nominated by schools and local organizations, must complete an application and interview. The deadline for nominations is October 31, 2008.
The Gulfsouth Youth Action Fund (GYAF) engages youth as leaders and empowers them with the resources to make strategic investments in their peers and communities. GYAF is a program of Operation REACH, Inc., a local community education organization that engages, empowers, and inspires children youth and families through informal learning. Operation REACH runs the Gulfsouth Youth Action Fund in partnership with the Greater New Orleans Foundation (GNOF) and supported by the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, the Foundation for the Mid South, Rebuilding Our Community, Inc., United Way of Greater New Orleans, the Metropolitan Human Services District, FedEx Corp., State Farm Insurance Companies, and Interfaith Works.
Youth participants will be trained in all aspects of philanthropy. They will facilitate training workshops for youth and adults, review proposals and serve on a panel that makes grant awards of $500 to $5000 to local youth-led and youth-serving organizations.
�The Advisory Board will have adult-level responsibilities and adult-level resources and assets to be actual policy shapers and decision makers, thus having a direct impact on this community�s recovery,� said Dr. Kyshun Webster, CEO of Operation REACH, Inc.
�They will learn and take responsibility for advocating for positive change in their schools, amongst their peers and in their communities.�
Youth Advisory Board members will be selected and begin training in October. The training sessions will be led by community leaders and mentors, including topics like fiscal management, community organization, public relations, and the art of reading and writing business proposals. Youth will also learn how philanthropy relates to economics, geography, government, history and civic engagement.
To request a nomination form for the Youth Advisory Board, visit http://www.thegyac.org.
Individuals and corporations interested in donating to the Gulfsouth Youth Action Fund should call (504) 529-1922 × 110.
For more information on the Gulfsouth Youth Action Fund, visit http://www.thgyac.org