Hurricane Katrina: Classrooms, homes, wallets opened for storm victims Hurricane Katrina: Classrooms, homes, wallets opened for storm victims (September 14, 2005)

By David Boyce

Almanac Staff Writer

It's about 2,250 miles from Menlo Park to the city of New Orleans, but empathy from the local community for the victims of Hurricane Katrina is gathering momentum and shrinking that distance.

Local schools are accepting displaced students, local residents are opening their homes to those made homeless by the storm, and local organizations and groups are collecting money and goods to send to the hurricane victims.
Schools

It's a long way home for girls and boys who recently arrived here from areas devastated by the hurricane, but for the time being they'll have second homes here and will be attending school.

Woodside High School expects two displaced students, a freshman and a senior, said guidance counselor Maureen Campbell. They'll live with a relative in Woodside.

Two girls, a seventh-grader and a sophomore, have arrived and are attending Menlo School. The girls will live with their aunt, said headmaster Norman Colb, adding that the sixth- through 12th-grade school has made room for four displaced students per grade.

Sacred Heart Schools is welcoming two boys -- a second-grader and a junior in high school. Both are nephews of a couple with children attending the schools, said director Joseph Ciancaglini.

Both Mr. Colb and Mr. Ciancaglini said the students' tuition will be considered on an individual basis. None of the schools is releasing the names of the new students.

At Menlo College, counselor Joey Martinez said the school plans to open its doors to displaced college students on a case-by-case basis.
Local shelter

Local families have signed up on Web site clearing houses (katrinahousing.org and hurricanehousing.org) offering shelter to the homeless.

A Menlo Park woman intending to become a licensed foster-care provider said she is looking for two orphans, newborn to school age, who need a home in a town with great schools.

Meanwhile, a family in Portola Valley is offering to fly one person here to live in a recently painted basement at no charge, with access to a car, a $500 a month salary and partial payment of airfare in exchange for babysitting and caretaker duties.

Another Portola Valley couple is offering their Capitola condo free for six months for up to six people, and will assist the newcomers in finding work and schools and arranging transportation to California.

A Woodside couple said they have room for two or possibly three siblings age 6 or younger as a temporary home while the parents get the logistics of their lives reorganized.

A spokeswoman for the San Mateo County Health and Human Services Agency said three families from Louisiana have relocated here and are receiving "direct assistance" from the county.
The Stewarts

Among the local residents offering shelter to survivors of Hurricane Katrina are Judith and Ralph Stewart of Sharon Heights in Menlo Park.

The couple, who are members of the Mormon Church, are offering to pay transportation costs for up to five people, including children, and put them up for six to eight weeks in three rooms that include a private bath.

"We would love a Latter Day Saints family, but Southern Baptists would be great," said the couple in a notice posted at KatrinaHousing.org.

In an e-mail message, Ms. Stewart said she was told by "the crew" at katrinahousing.org to be patient, that families may be initially reluctant to leave shelters and the South but that eventually they will need homes to go to.
Fundraisers

Local efforts, including many fundraising campaigns at churches and schools, are raising cash for hurricane victims.

The Menlo Park Kiwanis Club has raised more than $10,000, most of it from members, said club president Larry Marks, who added that he expects the total to go higher by the end of the two-week campaign. The club will add a 20 percent to 30 percent match from its foundation, he said.

Diane Eskenazi of Woodside said her nonprofit organization named Peace Builders arranged the shipment of $40,000 in medical supplies. The supplies were donated by nonprofit Sutter Health and shipped free-of-charge by Federal Express to a healthcare center in Houston. For more information, call 529-0999.
INFORMATION

** To sign up for a shelter clearinghouse, go to katrinahousing.org or hurricanehousing.org.

** A three-hour barbecue is planned for 4 p.m. Thursday, September 15, at Lutticken's deli at 3535 Alameda de las Pulgas in West Menlo Park, with Lutticken's donating the food and sending the proceeds to hurricane victims.

** At the Portola Valley Town Center at 765 Portola Road, the multi-purpose room will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day through Friday, September 23, to accept donated goods, including bottled water and supplies for home or school. The materials will be collected and shipped at no cost in a Wal-Mart truck. For more information, call Monica Jenkins at 799-9395.

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