Dirty Coast to Host Benefit Event for Youth Rebuilding New Orleans

New Orleans, LA, August 21, 2013 --(PR.com)-- Dirty Coast, a New Orleans-based apparel company, will host the After Hours Happy Hour benefit event on Friday, August 23 to raise funds for the Youth Rebuilding New Orleans volunteer organization. YRNO organizes service projects for students and young people, who then repair dilapidated houses that will be sold to local teachers.

The happy hour will be held in the Dirty Coast store at 329 Julia Street from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The event will feature free food and drinks for attendees, as well as the opportunity to purchase Dirty Coast merchandise outside of normal business hours. Youth Rebuilding New Orleans will receive 20% of the proceeds from all T-shirt sales.

“As a volunteer organization focused on New Orleans, we wanted to team up with a company that embodies the unique character and charm of our city—not to mention our famous sense of humor,” said William Stout, Executive Director of Youth Rebuilding New Orleans. “By having our event at Dirty Coast, our aim is to give patrons a chance to express their pride in New Orleans, while at the same time making a contribution towards a more beautiful and prosperous future for our city.”

Youth Rebuilding New Orleans works to revitalize abandoned, damaged, and foreclosed homes in the greater New Orleans area. After purchasing a project house, Youth Rebuilding New Orleans organizes volunteer groups of 10-25 young people. Volunteers often come from schools, colleges, and religious organizations, but all comers are welcomed.

Once dispatched to the job site, the volunteers work to clear debris and repair and replace fixtures, among other renovation-related tasks such as demolition, painting, landscaping, tiling, and hanging sheetrock. Youth Rebuilding New Orleans aims to provide its volunteers with an opportunity to learn valuable construction skills as well as lessons about working as a team, group cohesion, and the responsibilities of leadership.

In addition to its young volunteers, Youth Rebuilding New Orleans also strives to benefit the local community at large and local teachers in particular. The repair of damaged and abandoned houses has obvious benefits to the community as far as reducing urban blight and making the area a more aesthetically pleasing place to live. Youth Rebuilding New Orleans takes it a step further by selling the revitalized homes exclusively to teachers in local middle and high schools for less than their appraised value. This allows teachers to have both affordable housing and equity in their new home.

For more information about the mission of Youth Rebuilding New Orleans, including the locations of some of its service projects and applications for volunteering opportunities, inquirers are encouraged to visit yrno.com or call (504) 264-3344. The volunteer organization is located at 1933 Hope Street, New Orleans, LA 70119.

About Youth Building New Orleans

A non-profit, volunteer organization based in New Orleans, Youth Rebuilding New Orleans was organized in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The mission of the group is to reduce blight and restore storm-ravaged communities in the city of New Orleans. YRNO provides service learning opportunities to engage youth, giving them valuable job and life management skills.