Drew Brees needed New Orleans and New Orleans needed him.

He says he knew it before he ever put on his black and gold No. 9 jersey for the first time.

Brees realized it when he first visited New Orleans, months after Hurricane Katrina had wrecked the city.

Despite all the damage he saw, Brees, decided to sign with the Saints.

He wanted to give the city two things.

A championship.

And hope.

He checked the first one off the list in his fourth season with a victory in Super Bowl 44.

The second one has been ongoing; one of his most recent endeavors came to fruition in March.

Brees donated $250,000 to help build KIPP Believe, a school at Columbia Parc in Gentilly for kindergarten through eighth-grade students.

"It's the beacon of hope mentality," Brees said. "You go into an area that otherwise didn't have any hope and transform it. It not only gave hope within, but it lets everyone else around it know what's possible."

And there was a time when there wasn't much hope here.

This is where the St. Bernard Projects, one of the roughest parts of the city, were once located. Flood waters from Hurricane Katrina ruined the public housing development. Only 920 of the 1,330 units in the projects were deemed livable after the storm. Inspired by an urban revitalization project in Atlanta, three New Orleans businessmen formed the Bayou District Foundation to redevelop the area. After resistance from residents and months and months of legal battles, the project finally became a reality. In 2010, the 685 mixed income residential units were completed.

But one of the missing pieces in the Columbia Parc community was a school for grades K-12.

Brees visited the area about four years ago and listened to the vision from guys like Gerry Barousse, a local real estate developer and banker who was part of the Bayou District Foundation.

Drew Brees' approach for Year 19? Playing like it's his last season while preparing like it's his first Don't worry, Mayor LaToya Cantrell and Gov. John Bel Edwards.

"You could see him sorta light up and say 'I get it,' " Barousse recalled. "He said he liked what we were doing and wanted to be a part of it. It's great to see that willingness to give back and that investment in the community by a professional athlete. We'd like to find more of those."

Before the new $26 million building was completed, students attended two separate schools (one for K-4 and the other 5-8) in different parts of town.

The school made life easier for Columbia Parc residents like Katrina Daniels. Five of her grandchildren attend KIPP Believe. Instead of them having to wake up at 6 a.m. to go school on the other side of town, they can now sleep until 7. But the biggest difference, she said, has been in their performance.

"My grand babies did a 360," Daniels said. "This school helped them out tremendously. I tell everybody that. I think it's because you can tell the teachers are interested in the kids and they help them. Every step of the way, the teachers are on it."

Positive messages are displayed throughout the 42-classroom building that can hold 750 students.

The words "believe in a better tomorrow" hang in the school cafeteria.

"It's not I don't know. It's I'll try," reads a sign in the hallway.

Daniels said her kids, who made Ds and Fs before coming to the KIPP school, are now making As and Bs. But the diehard Saints fan, was unaware that the quarterback of her favorite team had contributed to the school.

"It's always positive when somebody is giving back to the community," Daniels said. "The kids need it. There aren't enough people willing to give back."

Some of Brees' other recent charity events include his $200,000 donation to renovate the locker rooms at Ben Franklin High School. And in a non-monetary donation, he gave also 10,000 shirts to students from the Greater New Orleans Collaborative of Charter Schools.

"I think it's an incredible model of what can be done in a lot of other areas," Brees said. "Not just in New Orleans, but around the country. We wanted to support it because we believe in it. We are constantly looking for projects in New Orleans that are truly making an impact in their communities."

Zion's new 'passing the torch' jersey a simple, massive New Orleans challenge: Be the Brees of basketball Imagine being an 18-year old kid getting an autographed jersey from one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game.

MORE SAINTS COVERAGE:

+2 Running Saints and Pelicans, Gayle Benson takes a family-like approach – and it 'starts with our fans' Gayle Benson could have easily just stayed on the golf cart and waved at the fans screaming her name and taking pictures of her as she rode by.