PS. Sorry for the delay. It’s tough keeping up with the news without help or alerts… :(
Category: Make It Right
Groupon Offers Epic Deal to Make It Right Gala with Brad Pitt and more
Groupon today announced a campaign with Make It Right, the organization founded by Brad Pitt to build environmentally- friendly homes for people in need. Groupon has already contributed $100,000 to Make It Right and beginning today Groupon is also offering two ways for people to get involved: a Groupon Grassroots campaign and an Epic Deal. Groupon will sell up to 10 Epic Deal packages, which include a VIP experience with first-class airfare to New Orleans, tickets to the 2014 Make It Right Gala on May 17, 2014, and tickets to the after-party. The Groupon Grassroots campaign encourages broad public support of Make It Right by facilitating $10 donations to the organization. All donors to the Groupon Grassroots campaign will be automatically entered into the sweepstakes to win a trip to the Make It Right Gala. All donations to the Groupon Grassroots campaign will go to Make It Right. Both the Epic Deal and the sweepstakes also include an opportunity to participate in a tour of the Make It Right site in New Orleans with an award-winning architect and the chance to meet Brad Pitt.
Brad Pitt’s housing foundation considers legal action
Brad Pitt and the leaders of his non-profit organisation, Make It Right, are considering legal action over claims rotting wood was supplied to rebuild homes in New Orleans, Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The Inglourious Basterds star founded the group to aid in the environmentally friendly rebuilding of the city’s Lower 9th Ward after the deadly hurricane left the neighbourhood in tatters in 2005.
Now some of the glass-infused wood used to build the houses has allegedly started to rot, despite a 40-year guarantee of its durability.
Make It Right spokeswoman Taylor Royles tells New Orleans’ The Advocate magazine they will be replacing all of the wood over the next six months, even on the homes that have not shown signs of decay, costing the organisation about $US150,000 ($NZ180,000).
Royles insists they are considering legal action to recoup the cash, stating, “We are evaluating our rights under the law and under the product warranty.
“We hope to have a candid discussion with the company and have asked them to put their insurance carrier on notice. We prefer to resolve this short of litigation, but we are prepared to pursue all legal remedies if necessary.”
Pitt adds in a statement: “Make It Right is ambitious and tries new things all the time in order to make our homes better. Where we find innovative products that didn’t perform, we move quickly to correct these things for our homeowners.”
Wood product said to be rotting in ‘green’-built homes
Actor Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation, which has built 100 energy-efficient new homes in the Hurricane Katrina-ravaged Lower 9th Ward, is considering legal action against the manufacturer of an innovative glass-infused wood that was used in some of the homes’ outdoor steps and front porches. The wood has begun rotting, despite being guaranteed for 40 years, a Make It Right spokeswoman said.
Construction crews used the wood product, called TimberSIL, to build decks and stairs for about 30 homes from 2008 to 2010, said Taylor Royle, the Make It Right spokeswoman.
TimberSIL is described in promotional materials provided by its South Carolina-based manufacturer as offering “an effective barrier in lumber to rot, decay and common wood problems without using toxic ingredients.”
Make It Right, known for its homes’ eye-catching designs and “green” building features such as solar panels and rainwater collectors, was interested in an alternative to conventional treated lumber, which “usually uses chemicals,” Royle said. “In trying to be sustainable and green, we didn’t want to use decking lumber that had chemicals in it,” she said.
The absence of chemicals in the TimberSIL wood meant it could be “mulched and composted at the end of its life cycle,” she said.
Brad Pitt’s Make It Right announces 2014 star-studded benefit gala
The management of Make It Right, actor Brad Pitt’s post-flood architecture development in the Lower Ninth Ward, will hold a second Hollywood-style benefit gala in New Orleans on May 17, 2014. Make It Right, which began in 2007, has produced 100 homes for former neighborhood residents, designed by some of the world’s finest architects, including Frank Gehry, Thom Mayne and Eskew+Dumas+Ripple. In the past six years, Make It Right has become a jewel in New Orleans’ crown of tourist attractions and brought activity to an otherwise ruined area of the city.
Make It Right reports that last year’s gala on March 10, 2012, raised over $4 million, which was used in the construction of 20 homes. The 2012 party and concert at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans featured appearances by Brad Pitt, Ellen DeGeneres, Drew Brees, Rihanna, Sheryl Crow, Kanye West, Aziz Ansari, Seal, Snoop Dogg, the Soul Rebels and others.
The 2014 benefit gala will take place at the Sugar Mill at 1021 Convention Center Blvd. The price of admission is $1,000 per person. Make It Right will announce the performers and attending celebrities on its website in 2014. Tickets will be for sale through the Make It Right website and by calling 504.620.3200.
