This morning, New Orleans residents will join Mayor Helena Moreno in her day of service across the city, and the new mayor says today's events are one way the city's residents can help make New Orleans a better place to live.
"I wanted to have a little bit of a community day or a community morning of service," Moreno said, describing her desire to hold this event as opposed to an inaugural ball.
According to Moreno, this service day is one way New Orleanians help city leaders fix problems in their own backyard.
"Join in and help volunteer in these specific projects," Moreno said. "You can join into different community projects in your council district."
Moreno says the city has significant challenges ahead, but she says service days like this will help New Orleans become a better city.
"I see so much opportunity for our amazing city," Moreno said. "We have some significant challenges--no doubt about that. (I) very clearly understand that, but that doesn't mean that we can't face these challenges head on and move through them, get through all this, and ultimately have a much better city on the other end.
"(There's) a lot of work ahead, but when we're all in for New Orleans, we can get it done."
Moreno's community day of service was supposed to take place nine days ago--on the Saturday before her inauguration--but inclement weather forced her staff to push the event to today.