On Sunday, Jan. 6, 21 volunteers and parishioners from Maria Regina R.C. Church in North Massapequa left for New Orleans to take part in "Operation Helping Hands." In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Catholic Charities has been providing needed service to the people of Greater New Orleans by amassing thousands of volunteers willing to lend a hand.

The group from Maria Regina was divided into three smaller teams. Each team was assigned a house and the teams were given specific tasks to perform. The teams performed restoration work ranging from carpentry to window/screen repair to exterior painting. Often times the teams went beyond the tasks assigned and also performed other work that was obviously required.

The parishioners from Maria Regina volunteered a week of their time. While in New Orleans, these teams washed, scraped, primed and painted three homes and helped prepare two additional homes for follow-on volunteers. The $8,400 needed for airfare and to rent work vans for the 21 volunteers was raised through contributions from fellow parishioners of Maria Regina.

The volunteers were housed at "Hope Haven," a shelter run by the Archdiocese of New Orleans. All of the tools, equipment and materials required for the work performed were provided by Catholic Charities at no cost to the homeowner.

Begun in November of 2005, the first phase of Operation Helping Hands consisted of gutting homes to remove debris and ruined belongings and to remediate mold. Now volunteers are beginning to rebuild the homes that have been gutted. Volunteers are helping homeowners by performing labor such as general carpentry, insulation, drywall, painting, landscaping, electrical and plumbing work.

To date, Operation Helping Hands has mobilized over 14,000 volunteers - more than 410,000 volunteer hours. 1,925 homes have been gutted, 42 homes have been repainted and 7 homes have been completed. There are currently 26 homes under construction.