St. Bernard’s Parish, La. - CNN's Anderson Cooper shined the spotlight on the contributions of AmeriCorps NCCC and other volunteers helping rebuild the Gulf Coast in a live broadcast of AC 360 from the Camp Hope volunteer shelter here last night.

Cooper thanked AmeriCorps, NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps), Habitat for Humanity and other volunteers for their key role in helping New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast recover from the devastating hurricane. Cooper interviewed AmeriCorps NCCC Team Leader Malai Turnbull and member Sarah Rudnik about their service, the progress they’ve seen in New Orleans, and how Katrina has been a call to action to hundreds of thousands of young people who have come to the Gulf to volunteer in the wake of the worst natural disaster in American history.

AmeriCorps NCCC has been on the frontlines of Katrina response and recovery for two and a half years. NCCC teams arrived within 24 hours of Katrina making landfall and more than 3,100 members have served 1.7 million hours in the Gulf Coast on over 650 relief and recovery projects. They have refurbished more than 9,500 homes, constructed 1,200 new homes, completed 5,500 damage assessments, supported 820 emergency response centers, served 1.6 million meals, and managed more than 186,000 volunteers. NCCC is part of a larger national service recovery effort in the Gulf consisting of more than 10,210 AmeriCorps members, 17,400 Senior Corps volunteers, and tens of thousands of Learn and Serve America students that have served with hundreds of nonprofit, faith-based, education, housing and other organizations in the Gulf Coast.

This is the second time Cooper has broadcast live from Camp Hope, a volunteer base camp managed by New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity that has housed tens of thousands of volunteers who have gutted, restored, and built thousands of homes in St. Bernard Parish and New Orleans. His last show took place on August 29, the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Cooper has returned to the Gulf Coast more than 20 times to report on the progress and challenges in the recovery effort.

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The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. The Corporation administers Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America. For more information, visit http://www.nationalservice.gov.

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