I am on the board of The Restoration Initiative for Culture and Community (RICC) and have known from the beginning what a great organization this nonprofit is. The RICC works to restore neighborhoods in New Orleans by developing environments that empower families through peace and unity.

Restoring neighborhoods, communities, and local businesses’ in New Orleans is important to me, which is why I am excited to share the inspiring work RICC is doing in New Orleans.

Meet the RICC

What sets the RICC apart from other nonprofit organizations within New Orleans is they are working to rebuild our economy beginning with families and neighborhoods.

Cardinal Seawell, Youth Program Director at RICC, says that the work RICC is doing is meant to encourage community members to “reconcile with themselves, with each other and with God, because that is how a neighborhood is restored.”

Their work is meant to create restored neighborhoods and develop environments that “equip and empower families to lead the way in restoring their communities by reconciling relationships at all levels, from parent-child to employee-supervisor.”

It’s staff members like Cardinal that make this nonprofit tick, along with their passion for the New Orleans community. Cardinal came to New Orleans 6 years ago for college and decided to stay because she fell in love with the city and what is has to offer.

Her favorite part of New Orleans is the fact that “you can find pockets of communities that are doing life together very rawly—plus, you get the city feel, but can connect with each other.” She truly believes that in order for any city to overcome an obstacle, they need a sense of community. “New Orleans has that sense of community,” Cardinal says, “people connect through music, art, and food. There are so many ways to connect.”

Making small differences in a huge way

The work the staff and volunteers at RICC do is evidence of the big differences small changes can make. By focusing on families and neighborhoods, RICC is enabling New Orleans to develop a great community in the home and spread that sense of community into neighborhoods and beyond.

I’m proud to be a part of such a great organization and am looking forward to witnessing the future changes RICC will make in New Orleans.

Want to learn more about RICC?

Get involved today. Visit their website at http://thericc.org/. Any of RICCs staff members can help answer your questions.