Going to Galveston!

Finally, nearly a month after Hurricane Ike slammed into Galveston Island, the students are back at their desks. But normalcy has not returned to schools. Piles of debris are still strewn about, people are without proper housing, jobs are gone, many students are displaced from their original school and life is anything but normal for many. As parents struggle with these issues, students are still in need of daily materials for their classwork.

Perhaps the proof of the continuing struggles for so many is the fact that former Presidents Bush and Clinton toured the Galveston area on Tuesday, October 14 to get a first hand account of the devastation and to plead for desperately needed funds for islands residents.

Many will recall that the two former Presidents raised sorely needed funds for the Asian tsunami survivors as well as those who faced the havoc of Hurricane Katrina in NOLA. It's pretty obvious that Ike has had the same lethal impact on Galveston residents as did the two earlier hurricanes.

Schools Count Corp will head to Galveston on Sunday, October 19 and will deliver a variety of supplies to the schools and assess the damage on October 20th and 21st. Students will be provided with pens, pencils, paper, folders, binders, crayons, and colored pencils among other items.

As we head into Galveston I want to make special mention of the fact that two area high schools are doing their part to help the schools. The Student Council of Lyons Township High School has made a significant contribution relative to purchasing supplies for the children. LT's Homecoming has a social aspect to it and this year the students chose to support our endeavor. Likewise, Hinsdale Central's Habitat for Humanity Club is sponsoring its annual chili dinner, donating 50% of the proceeds to Schools Count Corp so that we can buy classroom essentials. Kudo's to LT and HC!!

I'll follow up with stories and pictures of our trek into Galveston next week.

To those of you who have contributed time, energy, funds and products to this initiative...many thanks! You are one of the main forces behind helping the Galveston students recover from the storm.

Dick Flesher