A Flood of Support for Katrina Victims

Eli Gross, 11, of Metairie, Louisiana, has much to be grateful for. He and his family escaped Hurricane Katrina’s fury and settled temporarily in Houston, Texas, where Eli now attends the Shlenker School at Congregation Beth Israel. “I’m thankful for the generosity and kindness of the Houston Jewish community,” says Eli. “They have welcomed me and given me a great school to attend.”

Like Eli, approximately 10,000 Jews in Louisiana and Mississippi were uprooted by Hurricane Katrina. Immediately, the American Jewish community mobilized to aid the victims, raising money, collecting clothing, and gathering religious books and ritual items. Not content to sit on the sidelines, Jewish kids nationwide joined the relief effort. In Los Angeles, California, band students at the Milken Community High School played music during lunch to solicit donations; in Baltimore, Maryland, students at the Krieger Schechter Day School coordinated bake sales and a raffle; in Memphis, Tennessee, high school students at the Margolin Hebrew Academy/Feinstone Yeshiva of the South helped unpack a truckload of supplies that were donated to Jewish evacuees in Memphis. Yishar Kohakhem–way to go!