Max and Izzie Alley lug lawn equipment from one site to another during a recent family vacation in New Orleans. (Contributed photo )
Izzie Alley, 11, looked around cautiously, as she stepped inside the small New Orleans garage that has been temporarily converted into a studio apartment for the Strauss family.

"Smaller than your bedroom," observed Margie Alley, Izzie's mom. Izzie nodded, taking in the space crammed with three beds, computer, clothes and fridge. Nearly three years after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, thousands like the middle-class Strausses are still trying to pick up the pieces . The Alleys have come from suburban New York during a sunny spring week to help.

"I love them," said Denise Strauss, the mom of a 10-yearold daughter and herself a volunteer. "They get to see the human element in all this." She told the Alleys how they left their home with not much more than what they were wearing and didn't return for more than a year.

"We know from stress, but not this kind of stress," said Izzie's grandmother, Judy Goldsmith, a florist from Manhasset, N.Y., who got the idea to bring her family here when she met a family who had spent time volunteering in New Orleans as part of a bar mitzvah celebration. Through them, she founded the organization Beacon of Hope Resource Center (www.lakewoodbeacon.org), which is one of the few volunteer organizations that can arrange projects suitable for families with young kids.

All along the block in the middle-class Lakeview neighborhood where the Strauss family lives are houses in various stages of construction. Some are still

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boarded up; others are brandnew with flowers planted outside. Fewer than half the houses in the neighborhood are occupied. The Strausses hope to be back in their house by June 1 and the Alleys and the Goldsmiths are doing what they can to help, stacking bricks and clearing debris. It's hot, sweaty work, but the Alley kids don't mind. "You feel good doing this," Izzie said.

The situation is more desperate a few miles away in the Lower Ninth Ward, which was completely destroyed. Far fewer homes have been rebuilt.

"A lot of people had no insurance," explains Pam Dashiell, of the Holy Cross Neighborhood Center. "They are working on their houses as they can and they need all the help they can get. The progress that's being made is because of people coming to help. It's a real person-to-person thing."

This is the area where Brad Pitt is focusing his muchpublicized - and appreciated - efforts. (Kids can donate $5 of their vacation souvenir or birthday money to www.makeitrightnola.com.) Because there is so much to see and do, New Orleans is a great place to combine a volunteer effort with some sightseeing.

For more volunteer projects in Louisiana, visit www.volunteerlouisiana.gov.

Some nonprofits can even arrange housing. Check out the Spirit to Serve program at Marriott (www.neworleansmarriott.com/home.php) and Renaissance Hotels, which will give $50 of your room rate to New Orleans Habitat for Humanity. They'll also throw in free breakfast.

Rates start at $149. Make sure to tell hotels, restaurants and attractions you are volunteering. They are very appreciative and may be able to offer a discount. And make sure you check out special discounts for volunteer travel at volunteer.cheaptickets.com.

If you are embarking on a volunteer project with your kids in New Orleans or elsewhere, Vincent Ilustre, the executive director of Tulane University's Center for Public Service (www.cps.tulane.edu) suggests:

-DO research before you arrive so the kids have an understanding of exactly what happened during and after Hurricane Katrina. Just search the Internet for "Katrina projects."

-PLAN a project before you arrive. (Visit www.volunteermatch.org, www.volunteerlouisiana.org or www.lakewoodbeacon.org.)

-LISTEN to the locals.

Don't come thinking you have all the answers.

-ASK, "How are you doing?" The locals will be glad to tell you their story.

-TALK to the kids about the experience and how they can continue volunteer efforts at home.

For more on Ogintz' trip to New Orleans, read her diary at www.takingthekids.com.

Eileen Ogintz, a resident of Fairfield County, invites questions, comments and stories about your family travels. Write to Taking the Kids, 578 Post Road East, #566, Westport CT 06880, or visit www.takingthekids.com.