Campus Contributes to Evacuees

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   In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many members of the University of Arkansas-Monticello community and the town of Monticello contributed to evacuees through donations of their belongings, their money and their time.

   The day of the hurricane, a group of 30 people from New Orleans and surrounding areas arrived in Monticello. The home of an evacuee’s great aunt, Claudie Gladden, became their only refuge. They first set up tents in her yard to shelter everyone and were then offered housing from the bad weather at the Monticello Fairgrounds. There they experienced the amenities of a dry and air-conditioned building. However, they had to sleep on cots, lined up from one wall to another.

   Two weeks after Hurricane Katrina struck, Tommy Maxwell offered to let them stay at his deer camp about 15 miles outside town. There they had their own room, bathroom, bed and more privacy. The Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity even helped the group move to their new location. One of the members borrowed a truck from his employer at Prestige Furniture and along with others moved the evacuees and their belongings out of town to the camp. The children of the group attended the local schools, and their parents drove them back and forth every day because the deer camp was not part of a normal bus route.

   "I cannot even fathom the amount of stress and pressure these parents were under, living in a strange place and only each other to lean on," said Rachel Carter, division of Agriculture secretary.

   Carter sent an e-mail to the campus Sept. 9 explaining the poor situation the evacuees were experiencing. Her call for contributions reminded many students, faculty and staff of the ongoing problems facing the group.

   "It had been two weeks since Katrina forced them from their homes and I just couldn’t shake the thought of them struggling," Carter said. "I had $5 in my purse but wanted to give more. I realized that maybe 20 other people had $5 extra in their pockets. That’s the moment I sent out the e-mail."

   Within hours the response to the message became overwhelming. Her phone began ringing, and strangers came in to donate money. By that afternoon, over $500 and a car load of children’s items, toiletries and clothes were collected.

   "I would like to thank everyone for their generous contributions. I just wanted to help and UAM’s faculty, staff and students helped me. The school and its friends made it happen," Carter said.

   Overall, the UAM community raised over $800 to contribute to the Katrina evacuees.

    "We have never met people like we met in Monticello," said evacuee Tina DeFour. "We couldn’t even ask for anything. Before we even thought it, it was given to us. The people of UAM and Monticello have really touched our lives. We wanted nothing – it was unreal."

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