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Two local women, Cindy Carey and Suzanne Tooze, have a friendship that has spanned 25 years. Besides having a lot in common, both women are nurses by profession. And now they have come together for a cause, spawned by Hurricane Katrina.
The two women hope to keep the public aware of the devastation that continues daily in the hardest hit areas.
“My nephew, Ryan Monsour, was a law student at Loyola University in New Orleans,” Carey said. “After the hurricane hit, he was displaced and couldn’t go back. He still wanted to do something to help out, so he came up with the idea of designing the orange bracelets with the date 8/29/05 stamped on the side.”
The bracelets are rubber and resemble those in other colors that designate different causes. Wearing an orange bracelet will be a way to demonstrate a person’s contribution to hurricane relief and their willingness to participate. They come wrapped in plastic and cost $3.
Tooze, who is placing bracelets in stores in the area, said all of the money goes straight to a humanitarian fund in New Orleans at East Jefferson Community Hospital. An account is set up with a local bank here to facilitate the arrangement.
“Cindy, through her brother, Dr. Paul Monsour, a radiation oncologist there, felt this was the best way to go about raising money and awareness because they know people in their community and where the money could be used for the most benefit,” Tooze said.
Carey volunteered with the Red Cross after the hurricane and was sent to a shelter and convention center in Natchez, Miss., for one week. As a nurse there, Carey administered first aid and helped those displaced obtain medication vouchers. All of the people in the shelter were bused in or drove there from New Orleans.
“I’m from New Orleans,” she says as she displays before and after pictures of the street where her family has a home. “We’ve lived through Hurricane Betsy and Camille and never had much of a problem with flooding,” she said.
But after Katrina, when the levee broke, the Mid-City area where her family resides felt the full impact of water rising to mid-level on every home lining the streets.
Tooze, who also went through disaster training with the Red Cross, contacted her friend to find out how she could help immediately.
“I’ve had great memories of New Orleans and I can remember a trip we all took to the French Quarter Festival,” Tooze says. “When I found out about the bracelets, I had 300 of them sent up so I could distribute them. Sydney’s in Rehoboth took the first jar.”
Right now, jars of orange bracelets can be found at Quiet Storm, Tempest Fugit, Pelican Loft, South Moon Under and Anything Goes, all located in Rehoboth Beach.
Nina Spencer, a friend of Tooze and Carey, is from Marksville, La. She is an artist whose paintings on tile mostly depict her black heritage from the bayou. Her work is on display at the Delaware Museum of Art, the Permanent Collection, and the Rehoboth Art League, and she has been featured in Architectural Digest.
Spencer wears an orange bracelet. “I think it awesome,” she says. “Wearing the bracelet makes you feel like you are connected to the cause.”
Nina has written a song about the devastation, “Amazing Purpose,” to be released in January.
Carey hopes the commonality of the orange bracelet will unite people. “It’s something you can afford to purchase so that those people still suffering won’t be forgotten,” she said.
Carey said New Orleans East is about the size of Wilmington. It used to be vibrant with shops, restaurants and just the hustle and bustle of a nice city. Now, she says, the place is like a ghost town. There is no power, stores are closed and people are leaving.
Carey was back there two weeks ago, and she said the sight of the city, now a silent, unlivable place, was sad and overwhelming.
Their message is to keep your eye out for orange bracelets around town. More businesses will be carrying them, offering everyone a chance to participate in the recovery of a great city, New Orleans.
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