Jane Ellen Boothe is with the Louisiana Methodist Children’s Home in Ruston, Louisiana and last night she said to me, “This little parish has tripled in size in three days. We’ve taken in 36 children, ages 9-17 from New Orleans and many of them don’t know what’s happened to their families. The staff from a Methodist Home for Children came too - with their entire families - because they’ve all lost their homes.”
Jane Ellen doesn’t know how the town or the Children’s Home is going to cope.
When told about the Been There Clearinghouse, Jane Ellen said, “You have no idea how meaningful it would be to people here to receive packages addressed directly to them with what they need packed inside.”
The staff of the Children’s Home met last night to review the needs of the new arrivals. They’re going to visit the Been There Clearinghouse and email donors directly with the names of the evacuees and their needs.
With that said, running the center 24/7 with a full-time staff of nearly 250 and housing all the new arrivals is more than they can afford. They are in need of school clothes, shoes and underclothes (If you would like to send a monetary donation, gift cards from Wal-Mart are appreciated because the staff can take the children to purchase the right sizes. LMCH will send a tax receipt.). The address is: Jane Ellen Booth, LMCH, 901 South Vienna Street, Rustin, Louisiana 71270.
There was a bright side to today, Jane Ellen added, as we were saying good-bye, “The children started their new schools and the structure did them good.”
If you would like to make a donation through this clearinghouse to LMCH or to other Katrina victims visiting this site, please click on the “donations” tab above.