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The city has shown significant signs of growth in the four years that have passed since this devastating occurrence, but much work remains to be done. Therefore, it only seemed natural to precede this year's seminar with a service project.

It was this simple "work before play" line of reasoning that inspired 70 individuals, representing a cross section of the Minor League Baseball industry, to sign up for Tuesday's "Mission: New Orleans" charitable event. The mission? To spend a day in the Upper Ninth Ward (a region particularly devastated by Katrina) working on behalf of Habitat for Humanity.

The volunteers arrived in the neighborhood at 7:30 a.m., bleary-eyed but ready to work. And after Minor League Baseball president Pat O'Conner presented Habitat for Humanity with a $5,000 charitable donation, the work began. The 70 participants were divided into three groups, each of which was assigned to a different house.

One of the houses, being built for displaced New Orleans resident Clorestine Haney, held a special significance. It is the 300th post-Katrina home built by Habitat for Humanity. Also, construction on the house began on Aug. 29 -- the fourth anniversary of the day that Katrina hit. The three-bedroom domicile is scheduled to be completed by March of 2010, and it will house Haney, her two children (a son and daughter, ages 15 and 10), and her 19-year-old special-needs nephew.

Haney's Katrina story is a typical one. She and her family lost everything in the storm, and they began a new life in Baton Rouge, La. While her parents and siblings (she is the eighth of 10 children) made the decision to remain in Baton Rouge, Haney was determined to return to her birthplace.

"I always wanted to come back [to New Orleans], but didn't know how," said Haney, who works as a security officer. "I'm a single mom, an average person, and wanted to be involved in something from the ground up. I applied for Habitat in November of 2008, and they accepted me. On February 24, 2009, I started driving down from Baton Rouge to work for them ... my sweat equity."

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"Sweat equity" is Haney's down payment -- a commitment to work 350 hours constructing other Habitat for Humanity houses as well as her own. Habitat for Humanity will sell her the home for the price of land and materials, which Haney will pay back over the course of a 20-year interest-free loan. This typically results in a mortgage payment of $500-600 a month.

Haney welcomed Tuesday's Promotional Seminar volunteers with open arms -- literally -- dispensing hugs and kind words to everyone she came across. Her presence made the volunteer experience more meaningful, as it provided a concrete reminder of exactly why, and for whom, the work was being done.

The project was presided over by House Leader Ben Brenner, who began working for Habitat for Humanity as an AmeriCorps volunteer in 2007. Maintaining a consistent construction schedule while utilizing the labor of an endless parade of schools, local businesses, out-of-town convention groups and individual volunteers can be daunting, but Brenner has become adept at this task.

He broke Tuesday's volunteers into several small groups and assigned a variety of tasks -- including wrapping the home with Tyvek vapor barrier, doing blocking for the kitchen cabinets, sheeting and framing. The result was a surprisingly well-oiled operation, the entire construction site quickly transformed into a hive of activity.

"Mission: New Orleans" marked the first time that Minor League Baseball has scheduled a volunteer project in conjunction with the Promotional Seminar, but it won't be the last.

"Whether we work with Habitat for Humanity or another organization, this is something that we are committing to," said Minor League Baseball vice president of business operations John Cook, who organized the project. "And word of what we're doing will continue to spread, and we hope that results in more and more people getting involved each year. The idea now with the seminar is that we're not just visiting a city in order to share ideas, we're also leaving something positive behind."

That positivity could certainly be felt on Tuesday, as Promotional Seminar volunteers did their part to help make Haney's dream of owning a home a reality.

"It's really starting to look like a home now," exclaimed Haney amidst the bustle of activity. "It's starting to feel like one, too, especially with all these people in it!"

Benjamin Hill is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.

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