Community Corner

Montclair Area Teens Headed To New Orleans' Ninth Ward

Group returns for another week of volunteer work


Local teens Dylan Rubenstein, Cleo Bess, Izzie Sollohub, Madeline Lavosky, and Elizabeth DeJong will return to the Ninth Ward in New Orleans this summer on June 23 to tutor, garden and interact with children whose families remain displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

The teens attend Montclair High School, Glen Ridge High School, and West Orange High School respectively, and will be joined by 20 other teens from the area.

Most of the teens are involved with St. John's Senior Youth Group in Montclair, but have invited other teens from the area to join them for a week of volunteer work.

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Last summer they worked on renovating the home of a woman named Paula Taylor, and had an emotional meeting with her after the renovation was completed. For many of them "the best part of the trip was seeing how happy Ms. Taylor was to finally come home."

The teens are very excited about returning to New Orleans. They look forward to meeting the children and hope to change their lives for the better, as well as their own.

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