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Boston Women Build in the Bayou

5/8/2007
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In May of 2007, nearly 40 prominent Boston women – a team of corporate, civic and philanthropic leaders – will join forces with the New Orleans Habitat Musicians’ Village. Together, they will build the Boston House, one of 75 Habitat-constructed homes designed to house musicians and other qualifying families. It is an ambitious undertaking, and the roster of names involved – executives, civic leaders, media figures as well as emerging leaders, college and high school students – reflect the inclusiveness of the group.

But then, that’s the point.

Carol Fulp, Vice President of Community Relations at John Hancock Financial Services (Boston), conceived Boston Women Build in the Bayou after hearing about Musician’s Village from Ann Marie Wilkins, President of Wilkins Management. Wilkins represents famed musicians Harry Connick, Jr. and Branford Marsalis, and together they founded Musician’s Village.

Once learning of the Bayou project, First Lady of Boston, Angela Menino felt compelled to participate and immediately championed the project. “We must go – we must help,” she emphatically said. Indeed, through collaboration with likeminded women, Boston Women Build in the Bayou will provide shelter, comfort – and most importantly, hope – for lives ravaged in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Upon completion of the Boston House, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin will join participants and sponsors for a dedication ceremony. While a somber moment, the ceremony will also celebrate the bond between two historic American cities, and reaffirm Boston Women Build in the Bayou’s dedication to the revitalization of New Orleans, its culture and its people.

Boston Women Build in the Bayou will be a sobering journey for its participants, but it will also be an enlightening one. It promises to enable women of varied cultures and generations to collaborate on a common goal: to rejuvenate a dynamic city that is full of hope.

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