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EDITORIAL: After the storm
The Times-Picayune
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Getting people on the outside to understand the plight of Greater New
Orleans isn’t easy. No matter how empathetic a person might be, it is
difficult to grasp the extent of damage here if you aren’t here.
So, getting decision-makers down here to see for themselves is crucial
to this region's recovery. And no group has been more successful at
that than the Women of the Storm.
In less than three months, the group came together, flew 140 women to
Washington to issue lawmakers personal invitations to visit the New
Orleans area, and set up a tour and information session for the members
of Congress who agreed to come down.
The women had immediate success. They got 34 members of Congress,
including House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Minority Leader Nancy
Pelosi, here at the same time. And they are working to get more visits
scheduled.
Now, thousands of other women across the country have agreed to help in the cause.
Founder Anne Milling and the Women of the Storm have persuaded four
national groups to join in their recovery efforts. The Association of
Junior Leagues International Inc., the National Council of Jewish
Women, The Links Inc. and the Women's Initiative of the United Way
bring 300,000 women across the country to this cause.
These women are likely to be involved and connected individuals, and
they can help persuade their senators and representatives to give
greater New Orleans the attention it so badly needs from Washington.
If the women elsewhere are even remotely as energetic and organized as
the Women of the Storm, this community will be in much better shape in
no time.
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