Next week starts the fourth annual New Orleans Entrepreneurship Week (NOEW), which provides grants to educational entrepreneurs and hosts workshops for various self-starters. The group is led by Google New Orleans Outreach, which made huge strides in New Orleans in 2005 after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Using many of Google’s technologies, including Google Earth, volunteers were able to better aid the survivors during rescue efforts. In 2010, Google provided a surge of economic growth for Louisiana businesses, website publishers and nonprofit agencies to the tune of $102 million.
According to the Google blog, this Saturday, March 10, the group will be working with Make It Right–Brad Pitt’s foundation–to rally supporters around the globe during the charity event. Pitt has been a huge supporter of New Orleans since Katrina and has built hundreds of green, sustainable homes with his foundation. At 8 p.m. that evening, the Make It Right Google+ Page will host a live hangout with Brad Pitt and will include visits from special guests Ellen DeGeneres, Randy Jackson and Aziz Ansari. Afterwards, live updates from the event will be posted on the Google+ page along with photos and videos, and fans can ask celebrity guests questions.
Says Google New Orleans Outreach lead Tara Canobbio, “Our sponsorship of NOEW 2012 is one piece of our ongoing work supporting entrepreneurship in New Orleans. Other support includes bringing a major partner, Startup Weekend, to NOLA as well as increasing Accelerate with Google in the region. We look forward to contributing to the entrepreneurship ecosystem to provide real economic opportunities for the New Orleans community, its people and its businesses.”