Five years after Hurricane Katrina, Oscar-winning actress Sandra Bullock returned to New Orleans Sunday to open a $700,000 health clinic at a local high school.
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"We're here to celebrate an anniversary and though that might be hard for some, I choose to emphasize the word 'celebrate,'" she told 100 people (including Mayor Mitch Landrieu) in the auditorium of Warren Easton Charter High School. "Sometimes tragedies bring out the very best in people and it's one of the reasons why we stand in this school of excellence today."
Alexina Medley, Easton's principal, told the Associated Press without Bullock, 46, "we would not have returned as soon as we did. She's come to our rescue several times and in a pinch, she's definitely helped us out."
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Not only does Bullock own a home in New Orleans, her 7-month-old son Louis was born there as well.
On Tuesday, she chats with Matt Lauer on TODAY.