Helping Hurricane Katrina Victims

When news of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation reached St. Edward’s University, members of the university community gathered to support victims and evacuees. Campus Ministry organized a prayer vigil, while students, faculty and staff worked shifts at the Capital Area Food Bank and staffed Red Cross phone lines.

Rallying to Help New Orleans
Brother Stephen Walsh, CSC, ’62, executive director of the Holy Cross Institute, organized the South-West Province’s efforts to find temporary homes and schools for children and families from Holy Cross primary and secondary schools in New Orleans. Dean of Undergraduate Admission Tracy Manier and her staff worked around the clock to admit qualified students temporarily transferring from New Orleans universities.

Hilltoppers Helping Hilltoppers
The university community also rallied around students from St. Edward’s who were affected by the disaster. About 50 students worked 114 hours organizing a food and fund drive that collected more than $2,500 and 80 boxes of food and supplies. Brother Robert LeGros, CSC, and students living in Moreau House organized a “Beads for Hope” sale, which offered Mardi Gras beads in exchange for donations to benefit students.

Alumni Respond through Service
Alumni & Parent Programs also worked to contact alumni in Louisiana and Mississippi to make sure they were safe and offered to share updates with fellow alumni. And many alumni in devastated areas put their own troubles aside to help out their neighbors. Lynn Russell, ’91, of Walker, La., experienced high winds and a tornado and has been out of work since the hurricane — but she is volunteering at organizations like the Louisiana Nursing Home Association and the Louisiana Hemophilia Foundation. A licensed massage therapist, she is also giving chair massages each week to Red Cross volunteers. For the holidays, she is helping prepare boxes of food and presents to distribute to needy residents. This year, she says, such gestures will mean more than ever.

Service in the aftermath of Katrina “has helped me stay focused on what Christmas is really about,” said Russell. “The bottom line is that my family is sticking together and working to do whatever we can to help. That is what matters most.”

Connect with alumni across the country through the Online Alumni Directory. Learn more about Campus Ministry service opportunities.