Editor’s note: This is the first article in a three-part series examining the post-Hurricane rebuilding efforts taking place in the Gulf Coast.

“If you build it, he will come.”

We all know this memorable line from the Oscar-nominated film Field of Dreams, starring Kevin Costner, Ray Liotta and James Earl Jones. Costner’s character, Ray Kinsella, builds a baseball diamond on his farm for the ghosts of Shoeless Joe Jackson and seven other Chicago White Sox players.

I heard about the Ninth Ward Field of Dreams project in New Orleans and it not only reminded me of this film, but gave me a sense of hope for the affected region, a sense that New Orleans is pulling itself up by its bootstraps.

I spoke with Brian Bordainick, a 23-year-old teacher and the athletic director at George Washington Carver High School in the Ninth Ward, one of the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina. His is a story of true dedication and desire to rebuild not just a football field—but use the football field as a catalyst to rebuild the community itself. It’s a sentiment felt throughout the afflicted region and this is one shining example.

Bordainick and Carver player Josh Bridges

Bordainick was placed in his job through Teach for America, a 2-year program that places recent college graduates in inner-city schools throughout the country. After his first year at Carver, Bordainick was asked to be the school’s athletic director, and in just four short months he has taken this project from a dream and turned it into reality.

Being an athletic director and teacher is a major undertaking at any high school, but at Carver, Bordainick faces even bigger challenges—the school was completely devastated by Hurricane Katrina, and only reopened last year to teach classes held in portable trailers. Similar to other athletic programs at schools in New Orleans, Carver’s program was severely affected by the devastation caused by Katrina.

G.W. Carver High School, post-Hurricane Katrina

For the first time since the hurricane struck, the Carver football team was revived for the 2008 season, but because their athletic fields were destroyed, the team practices on an abandoned lot.

It was last fall that Bordainick, along with a few others, decided it was time to revitalize the athletic program for the school and community.

The goal of Bordainick’s Field of Dreams project is to raise enough money to build a football field with a surrounding track, bleachers and a press box that will be open to all public schools and community members free of charge. The area they have designated for the field is on Carver’s campus.

What started out as a grassroots, word-of-mouth fundraising effort quickly morphed into something much greater. In November 2008, the group was trying to raise $200,000 in order to get a matching $200,000 grant from the NFL grassroots program. Meanwhile, as news spread, more and more donations came in, and they have now almost $857,000, including a $100,000 contribution from Nike.

The ultimate goal is to raise $1.85 million, which will cover the total cost of the project. Bordainick said the plan is to break ground on July 15, and hopefully host the first sporting event at the field in 2010.

While they await the NFL’s decision, Bordainick and the group have not stopped working toward their goal. He recently went to the Super Bowl in Tampa, Fla., in an attempt to get the fundraising effort into the national spotlight. Also they are receiving assistance from the Architecture firm Eskew, Dumez and Ripple. “EDR is our architect of record on the project,” Bordainick said. “They are helping with renderings, design, and are also seeking out other partners to help do things for very cheap.”

As I spoke with Bordainick, I couldn’t help but notice the sheer excitement and passion he has for the project and the students and community members he works with each day. He said he’s continually surprised at how the effort has grown and how many contacts and relationships he has made since it started.

Many people talked about wanting to help in New Orleans, but Bordainick is an example of someone who is on the ground, making a real effort, instigating tangible change. He’s going above and beyond what he ever expected he would be doing during his time there. But the lasting affect the Ninth Ward Field of Dreams will have on this community and the lives of these students is more than enough of a reward. He’s a real-life Ray Kinsella, minus the ghosts and the corn field.

Do what you can to help: Spread the word to your network so they have the funds to break ground come July and be sure to takepart by donating to the Ninth Ward Field of Dreams.

Help the Rams get the Field of Dreams they deserve by donating to the project.