It’s April first and “a crew o’ Pyrates walk into a warehouse…”

No joke. We walked into ARC of Greater New Orleans for a return visit – and when we say “visit”, we mean “volunteering with another great crew” – and a very important organization! Being busy Pyrates, burning our ends at both candles, we were fortunate our mates at ARC gave us an afternoon shift to assist with – but no lollygagging once we arrived.

ArcGNO provides a variety of services to individuals of all ages. They assist parents of infants (0-3 years) to find effective therapies and treatments. They help students explore their options for the future after high school. They provide job coaching and placement for those seeking employment, day activities that enable individuals to be active and integrated into the community, and personal care attendants to assist with a variety of tasks in the home and around the community.

Miss Toni brought us into the main warehouse where we joined a few students visiting from Georgia and some of our ol’ mates in the ARC crew who helped supervise & sort. We were all put to work sorting through the thousands of pounds of donated beads & throws that arrive in the large ARC bins from across the city (our mates at The Avenue Pub alone collected over 4000 pounds just at their location!). This is only the first step in a process that involves cleaning, sorting, packing, bagging and reselling these items every year…and it doesn’t stop all year long! Broken beads are removed and often used for art projects; anything else that can’t be reused is sorted for industrial recycling.

Our newest recruit, Katie, was in the midst of her journey around the perimeter of the country in her Pyrate Van and made a special detour to join us. Katie joined Mr. Irish, Copper Otter the QM and myself as we dug in…beads into one giant box, throws in another, hats into a pile, special cups sorted…and throws from a couple of the Super Krewes sorted into special bins so they can re-purchase their old throws – the ultimate recycling!

All in all, a grand time was had by all AND we put a dent in that warehouse! ARC supports a large community across Louisiana – this location alone is responsible for about 80 jobs! If ye have some time on yer hands to share, give these folks a hand as a volunteer – or at the very least, buy yer next round o’ beads & parade throws from them (best deals in the State).