NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Inspire NOLA Charter Schools is working to manifest a better New Orleans starting with the youth. On Wednesday morning at 10 a.m., over 6,000 students will gather at the Smoothie King Center for a youth-driven and community-wide call-to-action initiative called ‘NOLA Love’.
The headlines naming New Orleans the murder capital of the U.S. is something that InspireNOLA is refuting with the new title ‘NOLA Love’. The initiative will focus on family wellness, mental health awareness, academic excellence, and community service.
NOLA love will provide services and resources for students to use with the goal to transform outcomes that negatively impact the youth both inside and outside the classroom. There will be many different people taking the stage to inspire the students including performers, and motivational speakers.
Jamar Mckneely, the CEO of InspireNOLA says it’s important to get the kids out of the classroom and he says he hopes students will feel loved after the rally. “We want them to be inspired to do some great things not only at home but in their community and school, most importantly we want them to know that we care about them and support them.”
The new program was announced on October 5 in an effort to keep young people away from gun violence. Just a week prior, the senior class at McDonough 35 had to bury a fellow student who was a victim of gun violence.
Student Body President Janell Young said she is mentally exhausted from the violence. “There is gun violence daily, involving the adolescents of our community and I am saddened by the number of my peers that have died due to gun violence.”