The Campaign: Supporting Make It Right

All contributions to this Grassroots campaign will help support Make It Right. Founded by Brad Pitt, Make It Right builds healthy homes for people in need. In addition, each free entry to this campaign—which includes a £60,000 contribution from Groupon—gives the individual a chance at celebrating Make It Right with an unforgettable trip to the organisation’s New Orleans gala.

Each free Groupon constitutes entry into a prize draw to win a trip for two to the Make It Right Gala. The trip includes:

• Airfare for travel departing on Thursday, May 15, and returning Sunday, May 18, with economy seating for two to New Orleans
• Three nights at the W Hotel New Orleans
• Two VIP tickets to the gala, featuring performances by Bruno Mars and Kings of Leon
• Group meet-and-greet with Brad Pitt*
• Transportation for two to and from the foundation’s 9th Ward site, including a private tour guided by an award-winning architect
• Option to participate in a volunteer day at the site
  
  

*Meet-and-greet is likely but dependent on the availability of Brad Pitt.

A £15,000 purchase guarantees the donor everything in the above package, plus upgraded hotel accommodation.

On May 17, Make It Right founder and event chairman Brad Pitt will welcome Bruno Mars, Kings of Leon, and other notable guests to the second Make It Right Gala at The Sugar Mill in New Orleans’ historic Warehouse District. The money and attention this gala raises will benefit groups across the country which are supported by Make It Right. These include victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, disabled veterans in New Jersey, children leaving foster care in Kansas City, and Native Americans on the Fort Peck Reservation in Montana.

Make It Right

Two years after Hurricane Katrina flooded 80% of New Orleans and damaged more than 200,000 homes, Brad Pitt visited the historic Lower 9th Ward. What he found was a community still reeling from the storm, a lack of progress in rebuilding efforts, and a nation slowly forgetting about the disaster. So Pitt founded Make It Right to build safe, sustainable, and affordable homes in the neighborhood hardest hit by the storm. He called upon 21 world-renowned architects to design 150 climate-adapted, eco-friendly homes. The resulting buildings would not only help rebuild New Orleans, but demonstrate to the world that high-quality, green housing could be made affordably.

Today Make It Right has built 100 LEED Platinum houses for Lower 9th Ward residents and continues to break ground on a new home every month. Each home follows architect William McDonough's Cradle to Cradle design principle, which emphasises renewable energy and social fairness. The homes are powered by renewable energy and help to improve water quality by using pervious concrete.

But the homes have also served as an experiment in cost-effective eco-friendly building, and Make It Right has made a point of spreading the knowledge gained. Not only has the organization built an open library of resources, but it has taken the lessons learned on the road. In addition to its ongoing work in New Orleans, Make It Right is also working with underserved communities in Missouri, New Jersey, and Montana.