Anthony Mackie is used to playing a superhero on the big screen, but the Captain America star served as a real-life superhero for some New Orleans residents this month.
Born in Crescent City, Mackie returned to his hometown and partnered with the GAF Community Matters campaign to help rebuild and repair roofs for those in need.
“Just seeing the community response, seeing the people around and finally getting back to normal since the last storm Ida, which was last year, was an amazing experience,” he said. Located below sea level, New Orleans is particularly vulnerable to devastating destruction from storms like Hurricane Ida and Katrina, and Mackie’s home neighborhood of the 7th Ward was hit especially hard by the latter.
The avengers actor said that GAF, a production company, Donate 500 Rooftops in New Orleans “help rebuild communities that have been repeatedly hit by natural disasters and made vulnerable to future crises.” 150 of these are in the 7th district, where they help seniors with a fixed income.
“When I hear the stories of these people, a lot of them live paycheck to paycheck, and the idea of saving $10,000 to $12,000 for a new roof is a daunting task. To go in there and help them do that – older people living on a steady income — it really means a lot, man,” Mackie said. “And their appreciation comes from both sides, to be able to do it and have it done in their home.”
Mackie says some of his most cherished memories come from repairing roofs
While Mackie is primarily an actor, he is no rookie when it comes to roof repairs. The turned metal Star, 44, is the son of a roofer and first learned how to fix what he calls “the first step to anything that covers your home” when he was just 13.
“It was hard work. I still have a lot of emotional scars from being on a roof,” he recalls. “But at the same time, the memories I will have with my father for the rest of my life were amazing.”
Those memories came back when I worked in New Orleans, Mackie said.
“… That all came back when I was able to go out with GAF on the Community Matters initiative and put up someone’s roof. If it’s one clapboard, if it’s 100 clapboards you nail in, you lose never lose that experience. Never lose that emotional connection to those bonds you had with a loved one.”
This story comes to us from People.