This is your chance to do something of immediate value for Hurricane Katrina and Rita victims in the forgotten rural communities hit by these awful storms. 
At www.ruraltorural.org, you can identify particular schools in specific rural communities, learn about their losses, find out what they need, and respond. Among the many in need, we have identified and worked with those that were hardest hit to list on the website; we are continually adding to that list of schools and needs.
Rural areas hard hit by these storms have been largely invisible through the national media. But these rural children and their families are not being forgotten by everyone. Other rural communities are responding to their need, thanks to relationships forged through the Rural School and Community Trust.
Both givers and receivers have benefited: the whole community committment of Jackman, Maine to send a load of lumber to Bogalusa, Louisiana led a local businessman Allen DuPlessis to remark, “This was the most successful community building work we’ve done in 20 years. It has been empowering for the community to realize the assets they have.. I can’t emphasize how important it is to get community members working with schools.”
You can make a connection, too. Rural students, teachers, principals, and schools still need your help:
- If your school or district has supplies, surplus furniture, or other items youcan donate, you can directly contact a school in this registry and make an in-kind donation. Search the database to find the schools that need what you have to give.
- Your school or community club, church, or civic organization can hold fund raisers, and direct your donation with a letter to a specific school.
- And you, personally, can make a credit card donation online and direct it to a specific school, or if you prefer, tell us to send it where it is needed most.
We are all responsible for helping those in need. But rural people, especially in hard times and hard places, are often at the back of the line. We have a chance to ease their pain a little and keep them in the front of our minds. With your help, we can do it.
If you are a rural school in Louisiana, Mississippi, or Texas affected by Katrina and Rita and you would like to be added to the online registry, please contact Page.McCullough@ruraledu.org, or call her at (919) 220-8004.
Rural to Rural is an intiative of the Rural School and Community Trust.
