THEIR STORY

In the aftermath of Katrina, 90% of the 400 students in Kiln, Mississippi were left without a home or a school, and with deep emotional scars. As this small community seeks to rebuild against countless obstacles, many will be be spending the next 5 to 6 years living in trailers and being schooled in temporary classrooms.

The first graders in Gulf View Elementary School will spend their entire elementary school experience in portable classrooms.

OUR STORY

Helping Hands was looking for a meaningful way to use funds raised for Katrina victims over the course of last year. The response to help was so powerful we formed a committee to seek, direct, and personalize ways to make a difference. Hundreds of Christmas gifts were purchased and sent to families that were devastated and help was given to a Katrina victim who relocated here to Barnard.

With Funds remaining, we decided to head south in search of a community to help similar in size to our own. Gulf View Elementary School in Kiln, Mississipp, was a perfect match. We connected their students with our students at the Barnard Elementary School, and a pen-pal relationship began. Jan White, Principal of Gulf View, had lobbied for ten years to have an outdoor classroom built. In the summer of 2005 one was finaly built only to be destroyed by Katrina after only two weeks of use. It is this project we present to you in hope that you will help bring this outdoor classroom to the children in Kiln.