Advertisement Loyola students, community team up to help Lower Ninth Ward Market Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A Lower Ninth Ward man who has spent his life savings trying to make his neighborhood better just got a helping hand from Loyola University students and another community group.Burnell Cotlon opened his Lower Ninth Ward Market in 2014 to give his neighbors, in an area that has not had a grocery store since Hurricane Katrina, a closer shopping option. Four years later, his place is much more than just that.The building now houses a sweet shop and a barber shop, and soon -- thanks to a donation by Ellen DeGeneres -- he will be able to open a laundromat.While the space is not all that new in the community, Cotlon said his handmade signs are often overlooked, and people don't realize he's even there.Link: Learn more about the Lower Ninth Ward Market hereA few weeks ago, GoodWood NOLA and students from a Loyola University design class stepped in to help -- creating signs, logos and stickers for the market.“So instead of working with a larger group that might not have as much impact, working with a smaller business and really in a neighborhood that really needs that advertising help to let people know that this is here; you don't have to make that trek anymore,” said Tippy Tippens, the class instructor.“I think the signage really shows that he's here to stay and that no one is going to be like, 'No, Burnell, you're leaving!' Because the signs are more permanent and not just something that's hand-painted that was on a piece of plywood. And it also gives him time to focus on his next endeavors,” said Sierra Lyman, a student in the class.“It's many times that I cry knowing that they have people there who care enough for the community. It just makes me feel so good. It makes me feel good because I live here and I want my community to catch up with the rest of the city,” said Cotlon.Cotlon hopes to get the laundromat up and running in the next few weeks. His next endeavor, he said, will be turning an abandoned house next door to him -- that he recently purchased -- into the area's first Internet café.