Warrior Weekend Two in New Orleans: St. Bernard Project

DALLAS, Aug. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Representatives of David's Cure, a charity raising money and awareness for prostate cancer research, PDS Tech, Inc., one of the largest staffing agencies in the United States, Citibank, and BigDSystema, the Dallas School of Russian Martial Art, are headed down to work for the St. Bernard Project.

St. Bernard Project (SBP) is an award-winning rebuilding, nonprofit organization whose mission is to remove physical, mental and emotional barriers for vulnerable families, senior citizens and disabled residents who are struggling to recover from the devastation and trauma caused by Hurricane Katrina, the Oil Spill and, unfortunately now, Hurricane Isaac.

With the help of more than 41,000 volunteers, SBP has rebuilt more than 445 homes in the Greater New Orleans Area since 2006.  Seven years after Katrina, SBP still has 130 clients on the waitlist, and receives 10 calls a week from families in need of assistance, whose average age is 61 years.  HUD estimates that 8,000-10,000 homeowners cannot afford market-rate contractors.  The organization is dedicated to restoring the social and civic fabric in New Orleans by rebuilding homes and lives of hardworking American families.

With Hurricane Isaac making landfall in New Orleans exactly seven years after Katrina, the dedication and support of SBP staff and volunteers has been tremendous. They have been working around the clock to ensure the safety of both current and previous clients.

"They contacted 190 clients to make sure that each one had a safe and sustainable disaster plan, they boarded up 36 of the 39 homes we are rebuilding and they retrieved tools from each of these houses.  Most important, the warehouse team, staffed by SBP's Veterans Corps members, organized these tools in a way that, as soon as the storm passes, will ensure that SBP's team and our volunteers can get right back to work. Because we have to get back to work." – Zack Rosenburg, CEO St. Bernard Project

As soon as it is safe, SBP will invest, full-throttle, in the recovery efforts. And Warrior Weekend Two Volunteers will be there to help.

"We are grateful for St. Bernard Project's efforts in New Orleans and delighted to be a small, but enthusiastic and tireless part of their efforts to get their clients back in their homes after all these years." -Cash Nickerson

"We at Citi believe in the importance of working with our clients, colleagues and communities to help where help is needed. That 's why a team including Citi Commercial Bank relationship managers are joining the group from David's Cure to contribute our time and effort to the Warrior Weekend in New Orleans." -Yousuf Omar, Citi Market President -Dallas Fort Worth

50% of all giving occurs within the first five days of a disaster. The majority of these funds goes to immediate relief (food, water, shelter), which is essential but not nearly as costly or time intensive as recovery (gutting, rebuilding and mental health services).

To volunteer to attend Warrior Weekend 2 (September 20-24), contact: [email protected] or register at www.davidscure.org/events. To donate to St. Bernard Project go to www.stbernardproject.org/donate.

PDS Tech, Inc. is an award winning specialty recruiting firm that supplies temporary staff and project support to Fortune 500 clients, headquartered in Irving, Texas. www.pdstech.com

The David H. Nickerson Foundation has raised over $150,000 and donated 100% these funds to research and cancer centers working solely towards a cure for prostate cancer. www.davidscure.org

BigDSystema is a Russian Martial Art school that focuses on Systema training, hand to hand combat and self defense. www.bigdsystema.com

SOURCE PDS Tech, Inc.