Early morning on Friday, September 3, Canon Shannon Duckworth from the diocesan office called Fr. Chris to see if a team could be assembled at the last minute to help with distributing supplies and food to families in Thibodaux on Saturday morning. By that afternoon, a small group gathered to assemble over 200 sack lunches with sandwiches and snacks. Then on Saturday a crew of 13 set off to Thibodaux to distribute food and supplies. Then several hung back to help clear debris at St. John’s Episcopal Church and a few parishioner homes. The whole experience was a reminder of what one participant shared, “The need is greater than what we could do, but it was a start and helped show the community there that people care about them.” This work was funded by The Episcopal Relief and Development, organized by the diocese in collaboration with St. John’s in Thibodaux, and donations received from St. James Baton Rouge, St. John’s Thibodaux, and St. Paul’s/Holy Trinity New Roads.
Looking for more ways to assist those recovering from Hurricane Ida?
St. James is putting together teams of people to volunteer at the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank to restock shelves and build boxes for food distribution. There are time slots available weekdays and Saturdays. Contact Fr. Drew (dharmon@stjamesbr.org) if you are interested in participating.
There will likely be more opportunities we can help our fellow Louisianians and others affected by the storm in the coming days, weeks, and months. Please stay tuned here and via our social media pages as more concrete plans come to fruition. In the short term, monetary gifts can go a long way toward the recovery process. Two funds we recommend are Episcopal Relief and Development’s Hurricane Ida fund and the Bishop’s Disaster Relief Fund.