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Community Work
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Mystic Krewe of Shangri-La
OUR PARTNERS
Click partner logo to visit their sites
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THE MYSTIC KREWE OF SHANGRI-LA (MKS) REMAINS RELEVANT IN NEW
ORLEANS AS WE CONTINUE TO EVOLVE INTO A CONTEMPORARY ORGANIZATION
WITH ACTIVITIES RANGING FROM THE REVELRY OF MARDI GRAS TO THE
SERIOUSNESS OF POST-KATRINA COMMUNITY NEEDS. AS A NON-PROFIT
501(C) (3) TAX-EXEMPT CORPORATION, OUR EMPHASIS ON SERVICE ACTIVITIES
AND FUNDRAISERS IS MORE IMPORTANT TODAY THAN EVER BEFORE. SOME
OF OUR ACHIEVEMENTS DURING THE PAST TWO YEARS INCLUDE THE CLEANUP
OF THE TRAIN GARDEN IN CITY PARK; RAISING $10,000 FOR THE PURCHASE
OF VESTS FOR THE NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPARTMENT; DONATING $6,000
TO SUPPORT BELLE REVE, A RESIDENCE FOR FAMILIES LIVING WITH
HIV; AND DELIVERING WARM SLEEPWEAR AND NURTURING BOOKS TO CHILDREN
IN NEED THROUGH THE PAJAMA PROGRAM. OUR FOCUS IS ON TWO FRONTS:
REBUILDING OUR CITY AND REBUILDING THE MKS AS MARDI GRAS IS
INTEGRAL TO ALL FACETS OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, ECONOMIC,
SOCIAL, CULTURE, ETC. OUR SUCCESS DEPENDS NOT ONLY ON THE HARD
WORK OF OUR MEMBERS BUT ALSO ON THE SUPPORT OFFERED BY OTHER
ORGANIZATIONS AND BUSINESS PARTNERS. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN
HELPING WITH OUR REBUILDING EFFORTS, PLEASE CONTACT Mary Katherine
Lonatro-Tusa at: dtusa@cableone.net
WE ARE PLEASED TO PARTNER WITH
THE NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AND LOCAL BUSINESSES RECOGNIZED
TO THE RIGHT. AS THE YEAR PROGRESSES, WE WILL CONTINUALLY
BUILD ON RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR EXISTING PARTNERS ALONG WITH
NEW PARTNERS ALSO COMMITTED TO THE REBUILDING THE CITY THAT
CARE FORGOT´ NEW ORLEANS
See:
http://nutrias.org/facts/careforgot.htm |
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Partnering
with
the Pajama Program
Click HERE
to go to the Sponsor's Site |
Mary Katherine Lonatro-Tusa, Captain
of Shangri-La and Mindy Kaplan, President of Pajama Program's
Louisiana Chapter.
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The Mystic
Krewe of Shangri-La is overjoyed with the success of our recent
opportunity to partner with the Louisiana Chapter of the Pajama
Program. As a non-profit organization, the Pajama Program
“…provides new, warm pajamas and books to children in need
in the United States and around the world. These are youngsters
who may not know the comforts of a mother or father to tuck
them into a cozy bed and read them a bedtime story. Too many
have been abandoned and deprived of any love at all.” |
For
the Shangri-La Christmas Party on December 12, 2007, members
of the krewe brought one or more pajama sets gift-wrapped
for Christmas. Mary Katherine Lonatro-Tusa (right), Captain
of Shangri-La, presented the wrapped presents to Mindy Caplan
(left), President of the Louisiana Chapter of the Pajama Program.
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Ms. Caplan, spent an awesome
afternoon with the children of Martin Luther King School
in New Orleans, Louisiana. The pictures of the children
are worth a thousand words. It is so easy to see the bright
eyes of delighted schoolchildren. All went home with new
pajamas for many nights of sweet dreams.
Source: http://www.pajamaprogram.org/index.html
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Donation
Presented to Belle Reve |
Mary Katherine Tusa presents a donation
from the Krewe of Shangri-La to Vicki Weeks, Executive Director of
Belle Reve. |
January
12, 2007
At the 2007 Coronation brunch, the Captain of Shangri-
La Mary Katherine Tusa presented Vicki Weeks, Executive Director
of Belle Reve , a residence for families living with HIV with a
$6000 donation for their continued services to the community keeping
Shangri-La’s tradition of supporting local agencies.
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Volunteerism:
Cleaning-up the City Park Train Garden
Another victim of Hurricane Katrina in 2005
was the City Park Train Garden. During the 2006 – 2007 Mardi Gras
season, Shangri-La members volunteered to continue the restoration
of what once was a beautiful garden and a great resource to New
Orleans. Today, “…the Train Garden features buildings made entirely
of botanical materials in a layout approximating the layout of
the city itself. As visitors walk on a pathway representing the
water surrounding New Orleans, they overlook over 1,300 feet of
track carrying streetcars and trains like those that traveled
the city in the late 1800s to early 1900s, at 1/22 of their actual
size.” http://neworleanscitypark.com/nobgtour_cf.html
Take
the New Orleans Botanical Garden Tour
2007
Krewe of Shangri-La Cleaning
up the City Park Train Garden
Pictures
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In
2006, Shangri-La will honored two volunteer workers from the Common
Ground Organization based in the Ninth Ward. They have been in the
New Orleans area since the first few days after Hurricane Katrina.
Common Ground is a group of volunteers from all over the United
States.
Please see their website at www.commongroundrelief.org
for more information. |
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