Los Angeles Author Follows the Lead of Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock and Faith Hill in the Rebuilding of New Orleans

Philanthropic endeavor initiates a “Do Over” for both the bayou and its people. The “Do Over” shows people discontent with their current situation how to start over and make life work so they can enjoy it again.

Los Angeles, CA September 30, 2010

It’s rare a person takes on the writing of a book and actually finishes. It’s rarer still a person would use the proceeds of that book to benefit others before themselves. But, that’s exactly what Los Angeles-based author and U.S. Marine Corps veteran Matt Theriault is doing. And he’s doing it with a smile on his face. Theriault says he has good reason to smile given the recent launch of his website www.theDoOverGuy.com.

Complete with Theriault’s tips for starting over in any area of life, the purpose of the site is two-pronged: To share his “riches-to-rags-on-his-way-back-to-riches” insight and serve as a catalyst to further the cause of his foundation, Rebuild the Bayou (www.RebuildTheBayou.org). Theriault refers to the website as the “game” he’s playing in life, and he’s committed to adding thousands of people to his team’s roster.

A Passion for Giving

In December of 2007, Theriault founded Rebuild the Bayou with a mission to build and give away one home to one family displaced by Hurricane Katrina through a pay-it-forward “blueprint” formula he created using his real estate investing education business as its nucleus. He conceived the project after personally witnessing the woefully slow progress being made in some of New Orleans’ lower income neighborhoods nearly three years after the storm ravaged the antique city. Now five years have passed and not much has changed.

Inspired by the words of John F. Kennedy “One person can make a difference and everyone should try,” Theriault is still committed to his pay-it-forward “blueprint” formula, however he has replaced his real estate investing education business as the nucleus with his new book, Do Over. The book reveals his life’s lessons during his rise in the ‘90’s as a music producer and record label owner to his fall to bagging groceries for six months in 2003 to his rise again as an accomplished real estate investor in 2009. Do Over was written in a way that it walks a person discontent with their current situation through a planning process of starting over, producing results in a fraction of the time to which they’re accustomed and making overall life work so it’s fun again.

The Rebuild the Bayou Foundation “blueprint” formula – which incorporates the foundation’s slogan Renew. Empower. Inspire. – includes:

1. Renewing the Lower Ninth Ward and enabling its residences to reclaim the neighborhood through others’ efforts.
2. Empowering others to achieve their dreams with an inimitable proven plan, the Do Over Plan (i.e. Teach a man to fish…).
3. Inspiring others to incorporate the Do Over Plan, pay it forward and donate additional homes to Lower Ninth Ward families in need until the bayou is rebuilt.

“I was appalled at the level of inaction being taken to rebuild areas like the Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans East and other lower income neighborhoods, which were full of tax-paying citizens before Hurricane Katrina hit,” said Theriault. “Five years after the storm, the infrastructure in these areas is still virtually non-existent. There are hardly any operational gas stations, restaurants, grocery stores or retail shopping centers in the parts of New Orleans with the lowest incomes because the former merchants cannot afford to insure their businesses anymore.”

“The merchants – and many of New Orleans’ former residents – have been priced-out of the place they have always called home. It seems most of our country has forgotten about the lasting effects of Hurricane Katrina. The Rebuild the Bayou Foundation and theDoOverGuy.com is my not-so-subtle reminder.”

The home, and the logistics of building it – which Theriault estimates will cost approximately $200,000 – will go to a family chosen by Theriault through an essay contest in which children from the Martin Luther King, Jr. Charter School for Science & Technology – the only functional school in the Lower Ninth Ward – participated. Theriault has formed an alliance with the school’s principal, Doris Hicks, who was honored as one of People magazine’s 2007 Heroes of the Year, and is a powerful figure in the New Orleans community.

“When Theriault called me – out of the blue – and told me he wanted to donate a home to one of our King Charter School children, I screamed,” said Hicks. “The children did a wonderful job submitting essays describing their Hurricane Katrina experiences. We’re so encouraged knowing there are people like Matt Theriault who care, and who understand how special the Lower Ninth Ward is to us – and to the many people wanting to come back and rebuild.”

Accomplishing this feat through book sales for an unknown author will be no easy task. In fact, some people have laughed at his plan citing it can’t be done Theriault said. “I’m not naïve, just a big thinker with faith in humanity. I certainly will need the help of charitable contributions, national publicity, word of mouth and given the majority of my book sales will be conducted over the Internet, stories and mentions from influential bloggers could make a significant impact.”

Matt visited the King Charter School and was warmly welcomed by the school’s faculty and students. During his visit, several local residents toured him through the parts of the city no longer receiving local or national news media coverage.

“The faculty and children at King Charter School are part of the heart-and-soul of New Orleans; they are an absolute delight,” said Theriault. “However, I saw some incredibly sobering post-storm images including multitudes sleeping under the Interstate-10 (Claiborne) bridge in tents, with a high-rise building sitting empty just a few hundred feet away. These are people who get up, go to work every day, and are forced to look at what could easily be their shelter in the interim while the powers-that-be haggle over bigger and better plans for the building.”

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita impacted the lives of 4.5 million Louisiana citizens. As a result of the two hurricanes, more than 650,000 people were displaced from their homes, more than 1,000 residents died, more than 6,000 were reported missing and more than 3,000 were unaccounted for. “These are Americans on American soil still recovering from a five year-old catastrophe, and they continue to need assistance,” said Theriault. “I’m inspired by the charitable efforts of people like Bono, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Brett Favre and Charles Barkley to name a few. I see no reason why ‘average Joe’s’ like me can’t make as poignant an impact as do my celebrity contemporaries.”

While visiting New Orleans, Theriault met with representatives from Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation and with Global Green, which is donating sustainable materials to the King Charter School for continued rebuilding maintenance. Harry Connick, Jr. and Branford Marsalis also conceived Musicians Village, the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity (NOAHH) rebuilding effort honoring the area’s multi-generational musician residents. Theriault says he learned through his research of these organizations that neither celebrity status nor financial positioning has made rebuilding in the Lower Ninth Ward an easy process for anyone.

Theriault remains undeterred.

For more information, to contact Matt Theriault or to contribute to Rebuild the Bayou visit www.theDoOverGuy.com or www.RebuildTheBayou.org.

Unless this is your first visit to DoOverBook.com you are aware that the first $200,000 of Do Over proceeds will be contributed to the cause, Rebuild the Bayou (New Orleans, Louisiana).

Matt “The Do Over Guy” Theriault, in conjunction with Principal Doris Hicks, will select the first recipient family of a new or newly remodeled house through an essay contest of which the students of Martin Luther King, Jr. Charter School for Science and Technology have participated. Theriault will hand the keys to the recipient family on December 15, 2010.

Principal Doris Hicks was interviewed by CNN’s Anderson Cooper this past August 15 and spoke on the condition of the Lower 9th Ward where Hicks’ school resides… still, five years later, it’s the only school in the Lower 9th post Hurricane Katrina. Photograph compliments of People Magazine.

The Interview (Compliments of CNN Transcripts):

COOPER: The Lower Ninth Ward was one of the hardest-hit communities in all of New Orleans and progress here has been incredibly slow and it’s hard to see. This is the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Charter School for Science and Technology.

It’s the first school to reopen since Hurricane Katrina in the Lower Ninth Ward and amazingly, it’s still the only public school in the entire Lower Ninth Ward. Dr. Doris Hicks is the CEO and the principal of the school and she has become a great example of the resilience and strength of the people in this community.

This is still the only school in the Ninth Ward?

DR. DORIS HICKS, CEO, MARTIN LUTHER KINGS JR. CHARTER SCHOOL FOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY: Absolutely. This is the only one. And from what I understand, it may be the only one for a while.

COOPER: And originally, before Katrina, you were what, kindergarten through sixth grade.

HICKS: Before Katrina, we were pre-kindergarten through sixth great. After Katrina, the first couple of years we were pre-kindergarten through eighth grade and we were hopeful that another school because before Katrina, there was six schools in our area. When we found out there was not a high school on the horizon and we lobbied the state to add the high school.

COOPER: What sort of an impact does having this school here have in this community?

HICKS: This school has revitalized the community. This is the beacon of the community. This is home for me. I knew that the students needed us. They needed to continue their education and that’s why we had such a strong desire to come back.

COOPER: It’s now become a charter school and about half the public schools in New Orleans are charter schools.

HICKS: Absolutely.

COOPER: What is the importance of that? Why charter schools?

HICKS: Well, after Katrina, the state decided to take over failing schools. So we decided to have a charter. You have your own board and you can plot your own course.

COOPER: And test scores are going up a little bit?

HICKS: Yes. Test scores have gone up. But, of course, we don’t gauge academic success purely on test scores. We gauge it on the attendance every day. When we see the kids, our students increasing. That’s a good thing.

COOPER: I love this portrait of Dr. King.

HICKS: Yes, that was painted by some of our after school students. And we reflect on that portrait and others all the time. We are very hopeful now. It’s been a journey. It’s been a struggle. And it still continues to be a struggle for many of us.

COOPER: Why isn’t more being rebuilt IN THE Lower Ninth Ward?

HICKS: Well, that’s the $64,000 question. In New Orleans, we are asking that. We have had a lot of community meetings with officials and we are asking that.

COOPER: Five years after Katrina, what is the lesson? What’s the message from here, from your vantage point?

HICKS: Five years after Katrina, the message that I would give is that individuals have to decide that they are going to do what they have to do to get things done. Whether it’s schooling, whether it’s houses or whatever.

You got to understand, our school wasn’t due to come back until someone came said 2012, 2013. And we decided we are not going to look at that.

The city of New Orleans in many ways and in many communities is back. I mean, the spirit, many of the people have returned. But obviously, a lot of communities are still facing huge challenges. And this probably -

HICKS: And we are. We are facing huge challenges. It was a struggle for us to get our school. But we were determined by any means necessary that we are coming back. We are very, very excited about what we are doing.

COOPER: It’s clear, there hasn’t been enough progress here in the Lower Ninth Ward over the last five years. But as Dr. Hicks pointed out, the sense of community here is still very strong.

Are you ready for a better life? Do you lack a life plan? Having trouble getting started?

Matt “The Do Over Guy” Theriault could possibly have the very thing you’ve been looking for to get your life back. His new book, Do Over, will show you why your dreams and goals are merely realities waiting to happen. Theriault will show you why your life will work now when it didn’t then. By implementing the ignored, underestimated and unknown steps to producing results, Matt will make it increasingly clear as to why the better life you are seeking will not only be easier to achieve than you thought, but quicker than you ever imagined. Whether it’s a new love life, a new career or a new business you’re looking to start again, the life plan outlined in Do Over works with unwavering consistency… and it will work for you as long as you commit to working it.

By purchasing Matt’s book and going to work on your Do Over you will be making a significant contribution to the residents of the Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans, Louisiana displaced by Hurricane Katrina with their Do Over. Matt Theriault, in conjunction with Principal Doris Hicks of The Martin Luther King Jr. School of Science and Technology, is committed to rebuilding the bayou of NOLA with new housing and lessons of financial literacy. The first $200,000 generated by Do Over will be used to launch Rebuild the Bayou (a non-profit organization established by Matt Theriault) by giving away the first house of many.

RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMBER 15, 2010