Common Ground Relief

Help us replace our stolen boat!

Common Ground Relief has been serving residents of Southeast Louisiana since 2005. We foster community and environmental stewardship so residents can survive and thrive in perpetuity. Each year, we mobilize over 1,000 volunteers to operate our weekly Free Pantry and achieve our planting goals with our Coastal Restoration Program. Additionally, we respond to disasters as needed and educate the general public so we may better advocate and enjoy or native wetlands habitat.

We plant an average of 5,000 trees and 20,000 plugs of marsh grass annually in areas surrounding New Orleans including Bayou Sauvage and Bayou Bienvenue. We depend on our fleet of vehicles which includes 2 trucks and 2 small boats to carry our staff, volunteers, and supplies to and from restoration sites.

This past year, we had to decommission one of our boats. We managed to achieve our annual planting goals with just one boat, but it was very difficult. Thankfully, we worked for over a year to obtain funding from multiple sources to purchase a new boat that would meet our needs and even expand our capacity to reach restoration sites in very shallow, muddy water.

We received this brand-new-boat just last week, and sadly, 4 days later it was stolen from our front yard. This is a devastating blow to the organization, which has already dedicated over $25,000 to this boat and is now lost to us. Being so new, it was not yet covered by insurance.

We are humbly asking you to help us purchase a supplemental boat (and locks). It won't be new, but it will be needed to carry out our mission. Any contributions are greatly appreciated and help us recoup some of the resources lost in the last 48 hours. Thank you.