Making it Right

Through the Make It Right project Pitt's inspiration came from the strength of the residents of the 9th Ward:
Having endured the ravages of Katrina, the people of the Lower 9th Ward are proving that, with passion, commitment and collaboration, they can beat the odds. They are ready to represent a city that not only provides a steady stream of culture and soul to the nation, but also provides renewed hope in the triumph of the human spirit.
The people of the Lower 9th Ward are survivors. They are strong. They are united. They are passionate, and the situation they find themselves in - two long years later - needs to be addressed. We need to make it right.

From today's Times Picayune article

Applicants must have owned a home or lot in the Lower 9th Ward before Hurricane Katrina.

Though the project's most significant impact surely will be felt by the families who end up in new homes, other local residents said that Make It Right's effects already are spreading through a neighborhood that but for the crash of bulldozers has remained mostly silent -- and vacant -- since the flood.
Tennessee Street resident Gertrude LeBlanc, 72, said Monday's party -- and the giant pink blocks scattered across the landscape -- already had introduced a hopeful new spirit.

This is like letting them know that we're still here, said LeBlanc, who said a church group will help her rebuild her house using Road Home money. "Yes, indeed, honey, I have been praying for this. I have been praying for somebody to give us a break. I think this might be it."

Rather than bemoan the slow pace of redevelopment in the Ninth Ward, Mr. Pitt said he decided to address the problem directly by teaming with William McDonough, the green design expert ; The Graft architecture firm ; and Cherokee, an investment firm based in Raleigh, N.C., that specializes in sustainable redevelopment. John Williams of New Orleans is the executive architect for the project.

The "Make It Right" team consists of successful New Orleans natives and innovative professionals as shown here:
Brad Pitt, with GRAFT Architects .

Stefan Beese
Executive Associate at GRAFT and the Exective Producer of the Pink Project
Mr. Beese is an Executive Associate at GRAFT and the Executive Producer of the Pink Project.

Nina Killeen
born and raised in New Orleans (and lost her home to the break in the levee at the 17th Street Canal following Hurricane Katrina). She attended Loyola University, and subsequently worked for a local television production company as a producer on numerous commercials and documentary-length films.
Senior Advisor to Jolie Pitt Foundation and a Co-Producer for the Pink Project

Stephen Rehage
Stephen Rehage is the founder of Rehage Entertainment and a Co-Producer of the Pink Project. Mr. Rehage is a New Orleans native and the originator, producer and owner of the Voodoo Music Festival, one of only a few independently owned large music festivals in the country.

Hervé Descottes
Hervé Descottes is the principal founder of L'Observatoire International and the Lighting Designer for the Pink Project. L'Observatoire is a New York City-based architectural lighting design firm founded in 1993.

Lionel Milton
Lionel Milton, creator of the Art Piece for the Pink Project, is a New Orleans-based artist. Lionel's latest venture is the re-opening of Elleone Gallery now located at 2001 Magazine St. in historic Lower Garden District, New Orleans.

Adam Ford and Rendon Slade
Ford and Slade are owners and lighting designers of Universal Visual, LLC, a Mississippi Gulf Coast and NOLA-based lighting design firm that was founded in 2007. The goal of Universal Visual is to provide a means to become completely independent of the current energy grid through the implementation of solar power and hydrogen fuel cell technology.

Bag Manufacturer
The Lighthouse for the Blind in New Orleans is a not-for-profit agency that has been in existence for almost 100 years and is the manufacturer of the Pink bags made from 100 percent recycled scrap materials from the Pink Project.

Here's the link to MIR merchandise,
including caps and Tshirts.

You can make any amount of donation to this project by going to this website .
Smaller donations -- from $5 to $45,500 -- will support the cost of the individual elements of the houses' eco-friendly designs, such as fluorescent bulbs, low-flush toilets and solar-panel installations.