October 27, 2005

When four Tulane undergraduates decided to take the fall semester off to raise money for New Orleans relief efforts, they knew they wanted the results of their work to be tangible. First, they provided money to the Tulane Emergency Medical Service as it aided in rescue efforts in the days following Hurricane Katrina (see the related “New Wave” article in the Oct. 5 archives on this website).

Now, two months after the storm, the NOLA Hurricane Fund founders are focusing on individuals, providing aid to two New Orleans families currently living in Huntsville, Ala., and one family in Dallas.

The NOLA Hurricane Fund was founded in the days immediately following Hurricane Katrina's strike on New Orleans by Tulane juniors Adam Hawf of Columbia, Mo., Kevin Lander of Boulder, Colo., Stephen Richer of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Aaron Rubens of Kalamazoo, Mich.

Using both a website (www.nolahurricanefund.org) and a network of hundreds of Tulane student volunteers across the country, the fund has to date raised more than $50,000 through cash donations and T-shirt and bracelet sales, and established relief and donation programs at a number of other universities. All donations to the fund and proceeds from T-shirt sales on the website go directly to New Orleans relief and rebuilding efforts.

With the help of Hamilton Simons-Jones, director of community services at Tulane, the fund identified two New Orleans families in need. Families were chosen through contacts with Teach for America of New Orleans teachers who have personal contact with the affected students.

One of the families displaced by Katrina was a woman and her five children who had been moved from shelter to shelter and then placed in a Huntsville, Ala., hotel by the Red Cross. A second family had joined them in evacuating to Huntsville and was also staying in a short-term, Red Cross-sponsored hotel.

The Tulane students worked with the families to formulate a plan, which eventually involved finding them temporary housing in Huntsville until the school year ends and the families can move back to New Orleans. In addition to helping the families work with insurance agents, aid organizations and FEMA representatives, the students found apartments for the families and sponsors in the Huntsville area who were willing to pay the families' first three months' rent until FEMA funds become available. The students used NOLA Hurricane Fund donations to take the family shopping for much-needed furniture, clothing and personal items, and also paid the utility bills for the first three months. If FEMA aid is delayed, the fund has committed to helping the families with their rent until the federal funds arrive.

In Dallas, the students have helped a family of four already living in FEMA-subsidized housing to obtain supplies and clothing for their children to attend school, and are in contact to provide future assistance if needed.

In establishing the NOLA Hurricane Fund, the founders focused on the missions of “rescue, relief and rebuilding.” While the relief phase is now ongoing, they anticipate the rebuilding to begin as people return to New Orleans.

-- Suzanne Johnson

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