Supplies Hit NOLA Schools

In spite of some humidity, hot temps and some afternoon rain; John Hill, Len Serwat, Bruce and Marilyn Feldman, Dawn Oler, Kate Snider, Katie Parks, Ashley Oler, April Hardenbol, Linda Phillips, Danielle Phillips and myself brought school supplies to seven New Orleans schools today, Monday, August 9th.

It seemed to matter little to the above mentioned volunteers, or so I think, that we missed having breakfast (as the hotel restaurant wasn't open per our request!) as the group headed to Penske Trucking and the school supply warehouse to eagerly load the supplies destined for seven of the NOLA RSD schools.

Each of the seven schools received hundreds (and in some cases thousands) of folders, binders, pencils, pens, school uniforms, graphing paper, loose leaf paper, colored markers, and notebooks. These supplies may not get Coghill, Fannie Williams, Schaumburg, Carver, Gregory, Reed, and Greater Gentilly H.S. through the entire year but it sure will help them for a good portion of it.

After making our way to the east and serving four schools we escaped the heat by ducking into a Gentilly McDonalds for lunch. Usually, this isn't my idea of a great lunch but the respite from being outdoors was great!!! After lunch we made our final rounds to three more schools and by 2:00 pm we called it a day.

What struck me (after doing this for five years) was the sincere appreciation shown by Principals and office personnel. Someone, in this case Schools Count, showed them that we cared. I am always amazed at their level of gratitude. Whether they get 50 boxes or 100 boxes of supplies, to a person, they feel as though someone cares for their students.

I'll blog some more later on regarding the conditions in NOLA, where public schooling stands, and our continuing efforts to supply schools with various resources.

Dick Flesher