WWL's Eric Paulsen interviews NOAAHH's Pierre Hilzim and Amanda Toups.
NOAAHH is proud to announce our awarding of a $3,500 grant to Toups Family Meal, a local non-profit working to bridge the gap of food insecurity. This summer, Toups Family Meal is focused on feeding children in need while they are out of school.
NOAAHH President Pierre Hilzim and Amanda Toups appeared on WWL-TV morning news on Thursday, July 25, to discuss their efforts to reach more kids with nutritious fare this summer.
Chef Isaac and Amanda Toups of Toups Meatery founded Toups Family Meal. They are delivering cold sandwiches, meals ready to heat, snacks, fruits and veggies directly to children in need over the summer.
Jimmy Buffett and Allen Toussaint at Jazz Fest 2014.
"Well the coffee is strong
at the Cafe Du Monde,
And the donuts are too hot to touch;
But just like a fool, when those
sweet goodies cool, I ate 'til I ate way too much.
Cause I'm livin' on things that excite me,
Be they pastries or lobsters or love;
I'm just tryin' to get by being quiet and shy,
In a world full of pushin' and shove."
--Buffett's The Wino and I Know, 1974
Jimmy Buffett, you were a wonderful friend to our co-founders, the late Allen Toussaint and Aaron Neville, and to NOAAHH through the years. Your support is woven throughout our organization's history. Our hearts and prayers are with your family. We're so grateful for the everlasting joy you brought to NOAAHH and to Parrot Heads everywhere.
Read about Buffett's love of New Orleans in this Nola.com tribute.
Buffett performs, above, at a 1985 NOAAHH concert
with the Neville Brothers. Below, fourth from left,
he is one of many musical luminaries at a NOAAHH event in the early 1990s.
NOAAHH Has A Legacy Of Caring We’ve been around since 1984 when Allen Toussaint and Aaron Neville founded our organization to serve hungry and homeless neighbors in metro New Orleans. NOAAHH has given more than $3 million in grants to do exactly that in the decades since. With an all-volunteer board, the money we raise goes directly to help others.
NOAAHH Never Stops Helping People In Need In the wake of hurricanes and other crises, we always respond to current needs and gear our grants to do the most good. As we move out of the pandemic years, NOAAHH will keep providing food and shelter in years to come.
We Make Our Best Talents Shine From early concerts featuring Allen Toussaint and Aaron Neville, to performances by Irma Thomas, Deacon John, Ivan Neville, Marcia Ball, Jon Cleary and so many others, NOAAHH unites our most talented musical luminaries with appreciative audiences to raise money for the common good.
This reason for celebration is long overdue.
On Jan. 7, 2022, New Orleans City Council named Allen Toussaint Boulevard after music icon and our co-founder, who actually lived on the street in Lakeview. His distinctive home had musical notes incorporated in the exterior.
The Council vote came as part of an ordinance to change the names of streets from Confederate figures and white supremacists. Formerly Robert E. Lee Boulevard, the newly named four-mile thoroughfare in Lakeview runs parallel to Lake Pontchartrain. The re-christening took effect Feb. 1. Toussaint, raised in a shotgun house in the working-class neighborhood of Gert Town, resided at his Lakeview home prior to his passing in 2015 while on tour in Madrid, Spain.
A statement by Councilman Jared Brosett on the vote: “In a city where we have so much to celebrate, and many incredible residents to honor I feel – and I know many people feel – that symbols of hate should not be celebrated. Allen Toussaint, of course, is a native of New Orleans and a world-renowned musician, and I believe he is incredibly deserving of this honor.
In 2021, Toussaint’s son, Reginald Toussaint, did not approve the proposal to only rename the Gentilly section of the street where his father once lived and not the Lakeview section, citing it would be disrespectful to the legacy of his father. Daughter Alison Toussaint-LeBeaux called her father, “… a uniter of people, cultures, and hearts.”
NOAAHH is reaching out to the thousands of people in the New Orleans region who need vital support in the wake of Ida. Our disaster recovery efforts are focused on providing food and shelter. Following our model of issuing grants to experienced charities working on the ground, NOAAHH is working in areas of greatest need, where we can make a significant difference. Join us and DONATE now.
Thank you for extending a helping hand!
NOAAHH provides grants to local organizations that feed and shelter people in metro New Orleans. With an all-volunteer board and no overhead, we fulfill the dreams of Toussaint, who along with Aaron Neville, created NOAAHH in 1985. Their goal was simply to get people in need the help they need. Over the years, NOAAHH has given more than $3 million to feed and shelter our neighbors. Join us in keeping the legacy of caring alive!
(April 2, 2020) NOAAHH joins music lovers all over the world in mourning the loss of our dear friend, Ellis Marsalis -- forever touched, forever grateful for your musical magic. We send our love, thoughts and prayers to his wonderful family.
(Feb. 17, 2020)-- New Orleans Artists Against Hunger and Homelessness has awarded $20,000 in grants to non-profit organizations that collectively have 599 years of experience addressing the issues of hunger and homelessness in the Greater New Orleans region.
Grant recipients are:
Bridge House/Grace House, CASA New Orleans, Ciara Independent Living, CrescentCare, Depaul USA, Inc., Eden House New Orleans, Food for Families, Grace at the Greenlight, Hope House, Just The Right Attitude, Lantern Light Ministry, Luke's House, Ozanam Inn, Program of Hope, Project Lazarus, Raintree Children & Family Services, Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, St. Jude Community Center, The Peace Center, Thrive New Orleans.
Watch a clip from a documentary about Allen Toussaint.
In 1985, music legends Allen Toussaint and Aaron Neville brought together a group of New Orleans musicians to perform a concert that would benefit the hungry and homeless in the city. Because of that musical event, the New Orleans Artists Against Hunger and Homelessness (NOAAHH) was founded.
Since, musicians from New Orleans and all over the world have donated their time and talent to help the organization address these critical community issues through benefit concerts and celebrity mixers. Currently, the Greater New Orleans region is reported to have the 8th highest rate of food hardship in the nation, in addition to thousands of homeless individuals, families and children.
With the support of these special artists, NOAAHH has raised more than $3 million for charity through donations, sponsorships and concert proceeds. In turn, the organization distributes the funds raised as grants to philanthropic agencies and charities in the Greater New Orleans region. To date, NOAAHH has assisted more than 50 charitable groups experienced in providing food and shelter to those in need.
Joining NOAAHH in their efforts are corporate sponsors, who donate cash and in-kind services to help cover event production costs. Sponsors are duly recognized in NOAAHH’s extensive publicity and signage. Proceeds are distributed in metro New Orleans by the NOAAHH Board of Directors using a carefully screened grant application process.
NOAAHH is governed by an all-volunteer board of directors, led for its first 25 years by Sister Jane F. Remson, O.Carm.
NOAAHH Board
Pierre S. Hilzim, President
Sandra E. Cordray, Vice President/Treasurer
Beth Landry, Secretary
Sr. Jane F. Remson, O.Carm., President Emeritus
Heather Cheesbro
Brooke Duncan III
Linda Easterlin
Emily Eck
Rachel Simes Guttmann
Linda Morgan
John Pope
John Rowland
Anna F. Scardulla
Michelle W. Scelson
The stars aligned Jan. 12, 2019, at New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Mint with Jon Cleary, Ivan Neville, David Torkanowsky, George Porter Jr., Tony Hall and Raymond Webber presenting a memorable NOAAHH Legacy of Caring concert celebrating Allen Toussaint.
Our thanks to these stellar musicians, and Reggie Toussaint who joined us. Thanks to everyone who made it a sold out event, Ed White of White Oak Productions, Trevor Brooks and Sentrē Sound, Southern Hospitality Catering, and the staff of New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Mint. All proceeds from the concert support NOAAHH's grant to local non-profits supplying food and shelter to people in need.
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CHECK OUT TOUSSAINT MURAL IN TREME
NOAAHH board members Linda Morgan and John Pope pose beneath a giant mural depicting NOAAHH co-founder Allen Toussaint, just off North Claiborne Avenue in Treme; Morgan and Pope found it during a Sept. 3 visit to sites operated by Thrive New Orleans, a 2018 NOAAHH grant recipient.
On Nov. 10, 2015, the world lost Allen Toussaint, a genius musician whose talent was only eclipsed by his caring heart. Allen co-founded New Orleans Artists Against Hunger and Homelessness (NOAAHH) in 1985. We at NOAAHH pay tribute to this great man and pledge to help keep his legacy of caring for people in need going strong.
NOAAHH was founded in 1985 when Allen Toussaint, Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee and Grammy Trustee Award recipient, and Aaron Neville, Grammy Award winner and Louisiana Music Hall of Fame inductee, brought together a groups of New Orleans musicians to perform a concert to benefit the hungry and homeless of metro New Orleans. Governed by an all-volunteer board of directors, NOAAHH presents concerts and gala celebrity mixers to raise funds to help alleviate hunger and homelessness in the Greater New Orleans region. Proceeds from concerts are distributed by NOAAHH to philanthropic non-profit agencies and charities experienced in providing food and shelter to those in need.
Legacy of Caring Concert Celebrating Allen Toussaint
Saturday, Jan. 12, 8 pm
New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Mint
To become a sponsor or learn more, contact us today
NOAAHH Silent Auction at The Nobles Farewell Concert. At Rock N Bowl, NOAAHH benefitted from a Silent Auction. The Nobles also performed a tribute to Allen Toussaint.
NOAAHH distributed $26,000 in grants to 14 organizations serving the Greater New Orleans region. March 2015.
Just The Right Attitude Honors Sr. Jane Remson and NOAAHH.
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