Charity/Philanthropy

The entertainment for Saturday’s $1,000 to $2,500 per-ticket Make It Right fundraising gala is first class, with comedian Chris Rock and belter Bruno Mars, plus an appearance by the leading man behind the houses, movie star Brad Pitt.

Pitt’s architecturally avant-garde post-Hurricane Katrina neighborhood redevelopment in the Lower 9th Ward, has reached the 100-house mark. That’s impressive. Back in 2007 when the project began, the neighborhood on the east side of the Judge Seeber Bridge was a disaster zone, one of the areas hardest hit by the catastrophic levee failures of 2005.

The almost 10-year-old scars still show. Much of the area remains weedy and fallow, but 100 snazzy houses mark a few blocks of the landscape along Jourdan, Deslonde, Tennessee, Reynes and Forstall streets. Pitt, a modern architecture enthusiast with a craving for activism, used his considerable big-screen sizzle to make that happen.

Tom Darden, the svelte, youthful director of Make It Right sat on the front stoop of one of the concept houses on Friday (May 9) discussing the state of the ongoing project.

The biggest compliment he said he’s ever received about Make It Right came somewhat unconsciously, when an onlooker said “Wow, what a cool neighborhood,” instead of saying “Wow, such cool houses.”

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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.

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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.”

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