Earlier this Fall, the devastating flooding in Louisiana was brought to our attention by ECA parishioner Desi Doucet. Desi started a movement with her website http://adoptafloodfamily.org, and ECA was able to help provide support to the Lynch Family in Walker, LA.

In October, three ECA parishioners took a 16’ moving truck down to South Louisiana and delivered to 6 affected flood families, including the Lynch Family. Here are some of their accomplishments:

• $193 in REACH Yard Sale items were pulled prior to the sale if they were deemed usable for the families that would be on the delivery schedule. Items included linens, towels, a single bed, trundle + mattresses, a sofa bed, loveseat, table + 4 chairs, pre-lit Christmas tree, griddle, 16+ qt roaster
• The $1000 in allocated REACH funds were used for 3 sets of bunk beds + mattresses for affected families,  clothing for the Lynch family to fill in what wasn’t donated by parishioners, and underwear for all 6 children and a 2 burner hot plates
• $200 in Walmart gift cards were taken to be distributed to the families we visited during the trip
• Two night hotel room extension for a family whose FEMA support was still in process
• The cost of the truck ($370) and fuel (around $200) was covered by a promotional donation by Roadie, a new software application that arranges for delivery of goods from one location to another

Thank you to all who helped load the truck, donated goods, or sent love and support to the affected families. There is still more work to be done and we have scheduled another trip to Louisiana to deliver another truckload!

 
ECA will now help a teacher at a Episcopal School in Baton Rouge whose home flooded. Her family of four’s needs are listed on this spreadsheet. If you are able to provide any of these items, please update the spreadsheet or let Desi know so we don’t end up with duplicates. If you’d prefer to give gift cards, Walmart and Target would be ideal for their needs. The truck will be loaded Saturday, November 19th beginning at 9:30am and any volunteers are welcome to help out!

Good things are happening in the face of a terrible situation. If you’d like to be involved, please email the ECA office or contact Desi Doucet. You can also visit adoptafloodfamily.org for more information and more ways to help!