M.A.R.D.I. G.R.A.S. is a disaster-relief based service organization dedicated to providing proactive, efficient, and values-driven aid to communities impacted by both natural and man-made crises. We aim to cultivate authentic community outreach through practicing empathy, compassion, and advocacy, while in tandem, providing reliable physical labor and services.
Marquette MARDI GRAS was founded in 2006 after a student was displaced from Loyola University - New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and came to Marquette University to continue her education. She hoped to help rebuild the community she left, and since then, Marquette MARDI GRAS has sent over 3,500 students to New Orleans and the Gulf Region. Marquette MARDI GRAS sends groups to New Orleans and other communities affected by natural disaster five times a year during school breaks.
In 2013, Marquette MARDI GRAS expanded to New York in reaction to Hurricane Sandy which devastated portions of the Caribbean and the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States in October 2012. The groups worked primarily in communities within Brooklyn.
In 2014, Marquette MARDI GRAS partnered with United Way and Project Homeless Connect to relate our mission to our own community and challenge man-made disasters such as homelessness, poverty, and hunger.
In 2016, Marquette MARDI GRAS expanded to Detroit after some major flooding that FEMA declared the largest disaster in 2014. The groups worked in a few neighborhoods around the city, as well as helping distribute bottled water in Flint.
In 2018, starting nine months after the landfall of Hurricane Harvey, Marquette MARDI GRAS expanded to Rosharon, a farming community of mostly Cambodian and Laotian immigrants thirty miles south of Houston.
In January 2019, Marquette MARDI GRAS expanded to Wilmington, North Carolina which was where the eye of Hurricane Florence made landfall in September of 2018.
By March 2019, Marquette MARDI GRAS was able to expand to Panama City, Florida based on recommendations from the non-profit organizations in Wilmington, NC. The Florida panhandle was hit by Hurricane Michael in October of 2018.
In January 2023, Marquette MARDI GRAS was able to expand to Fort Myers, Florida. Communities including Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel Island and Pine Island were hit the hardest by Ian in September of 2022.
