by Stacey Paretti Rase

I’ll never forget my first meeting with Lori Murphy. She had just made the decision to purchase and publish Inside Northside. As we sat in a small Covington coffee shop, she laid out her vision for the future of the magazine.

What I remember most is the first story she assigned me to write: “Benefit Soirées.” My task was to write about some of the enjoyable fundraising events that would take place during the fall of 2001—The Harvest Cup Polo Classic, Joie de Vivre Bal, Kitchens du Jour, Jump for Life, Autumn Enchantment, and The Monster Mash, to be specific. The story went in depth about each event and the organization that it benefited, in an effort to assist the groups in their fundraising effort.

Highlighting worthy charitable organizations was important to Lori from the very beginning. Recognizing the essential role that they play in keeping our community vibrant, she felt that it was her duty and responsibility to stand beside them as a partner in reaching their goals. (Plus, the events sure were fun to attend!) Since then, many wonderful groups have been featured on the pages of IN, and in February 2005, the subject was given its very own department within the magazine: “Worthy Causes.” Here’s a look at what some of those organizations are up to today.

Last summer, IN helped to spread the word that CASA was recruiting volunteers for its program. These wonderfully caring men and women—Court Appointed Special Advocates—are the “voice” for abused and neglected children in the courtroom. They provide unbiased reports to the judges, spelling out the particular nuances of each case. The CASA program is offered by the Youth Service Bureau, whose Slidell office—the hub of CASA operations—was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina. CASA was forced to postpone its fall training program, and instead held recruitment in the spring, with great success. “We just completed our largest-ever volunteer training,” says CASA Director Ila Dieterich. “Judge William ‘Rusty’ Knight, 22nd Judicial District, swore in 35 caring citizens from across St. Tammany and Washington parishes as Court Appointed Special Advocates this past March. Several members of that training class called after seeing the coverage in Inside Northside, making our community outreach effort a great success.”

Looking ahead, the CASA staff is planning its next volunteer training for the fall. And more good news—reconstruction has now begun on the Youth Service Bureau’s Slidell office, which should reopen mid-summer.
Another previously featured worthy organization that advocates for abused and neglected children is the Office of Community Services. One of the organization’s many tasks is to recruit and train foster families in our community. This month of May is especially important to OCS, as it celebrates Foster Parent Appreciation Month. “The foster families in our area have been so dedicated since the storm,” remarks Home Development Supervisor Dania Fandal. “Many of our families, especially in Slidell, lost their homes and are now living in FEMA trailers. But they are still so committed.”

Fandal says that informing IN readers about the community’s need for foster families definitely leads to positive feedback. “Inside Northside helped us to get our message out in a professional way, and brought us to a different level of recruitment. We got a lot of intake calls from our mention in ‘Worthy Causes,’ and that just helps us get more info to those people out there who are interested in becoming foster parents.”

Over a year ago, IN highlighted the busy happenings at STARC, the St. Tammany Association of Retarded Citizens, Inc. The private non-profit organization founded in 1972 provides services and support that enable people with mental retardation and/or developmental disabilities to reach their potential as independent, contributing members of society. A year before the “Worthy Causes” feature, the organization had started a wonderful program to provide their clients access to art instruction at STARC’s Slidell and Mandeville facilities. The resulting artwork is used in the production of greeting cards that are sold to benefit STARC. The art program has flourished, says Art Instructor Ruth Ann Weeks. The program took a hit, however, during Hurricane Katrina. The Slidell warehouse that held all of STARC’s art supplies received significant flooding. Most of the supplies were lost. The organization is actively pursuing donations of art supplies and related items, such as paints, cardstock paper, art software, easels, frames and markers.

“Fortunately, we did not lose our records in the storm,” says Weeks. “And we are moving ahead—preparing new card collections, as well as exhibiting our current work at various locations throughout the parish.” In Slidell, the collection can be viewed at MD Imaging on Gause Boulevard and at STARC’s central business office on 9th Street. Artwork also hangs at ASI Federal Credit Union on Florida Street in Mandeville. The pieces will be featured later this year as Mandeville City Hall’s November art exhibit.

The most exciting new development in the program is the formation of a store in which to display and sell the STARC clients’ artwork. The store will be called “STARC Treasures” and will feature craft gifts, such as mosaics and refurbished furniture, paintings, and the artists’ popular line of greeting cards. “The store will be staffed by our clients and art instructors,” says Weeks. “It’s a very exciting undertaking.”

New Heights Therapy Center, which offers therapeutic horseback riding programs, is also looking ahead to the future. The organization faced major setbacks following Hurricane Katrina, but director Sue Cheveallier says that most of their riders have since returned to the program. “Like many non-profits, New Heights depends on community support for funding and for volunteers. Coverage of our riding program in Inside Northside has helped to tell our story to more people on the northshore.”

New Heights will hold a Golf Classic and Wild Game and Seafood Feast on June 7 to help make up for the loss from the cancellation of their popular fall fundraiser, the New Heights Garden Party, which was derailed after the storm.