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Archer Street School Donates $1,500
To Help Fund Center in Bay St. Louis, MS
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The Archer Street Elementary School has donated $1,500 to
the Freeport Hurricane Relief Task Force, a village-wide effort to raise
$90,000 to build a Community Center in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, a beachfront
community devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
Accepting the check on behalf of the Task Force were Bruce Newberry of
the Freeport Office of Emergency Management, Ray Maguire, Executive Director
of the Freeport Fire Department, and Danielle Rogers, secretary of the
Hurricane Relief Task Force. |
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More than 18 Freeport government agencies, civic organizations,
and local businesses are cooperating in the effort to establish the center
in the historic seaside community.
Rogers said the recently launched effort has
raised approximately $7,000; she said that further events and mailings would take
place to help publicize the cause. The task force is planning a fundraising auction
of valuable products and services on Saturday, January 15 at Odin’s
on Atlantic Avenue in Freeport. |
“Freeporters have traditionally been very generous
to reach out to help people in need—wherever they are,” Rogers
said. “We’ve done it as individual agencies and companies
to help tsunami survivors. Now we’re all banding together to benefit
a single community tht was very hard hit. Working together, we know we
can make a real difference in the life of this historic Mississippi community
that has a lot in common with our own.”
In donating the check to the task force, Archer
Street Principal Paula Lein said the money was raised mainly by students
bringing in pennies and other change day after day as part of the school’s “Pennies
of Kindness” program. “Our students are inspiring,” she
said. |
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“One student, Jarrell Lanier, made a donation—however
small—every day of our fundraising drive. They truly lived the meaning
of our motto for the drive: ‘The world is a family whose happiness
depends on a circle of caring…on a rainbow of friends.’”
Ms. Mike Cuevas, former Director of Cultural
Affairs for Bay St.Louis, who now coordinates donations and volunteers,
said “A
community center will fulfill one of our ‘dream list’ projects
from pre-Katrina. It is especially needed now, as we move forward with
our rebuilding.” |
| The Task Force consists of the Freeport Fire Department,
the Freeport Police Department, the Village of Freeport, the Freeport Public
Schools, the Freeport Office of Emergency Management, the Mayor’s
Office, the Freeport Salvation Army, the Freeport Chamber of Commerce,
the Police Benevolent Association, the Freeport Presbyterian Church, the
Freeport PTA, the Church of the Transfiguration, the Freeport Kiwanis,
the south Nassau Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Water Lilly’s
Restaurant, Jeremy’s Ale House and Vincent’s Pub. |
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Bay St. Louis sits on the highest point on the Gulf of Mexico
coastline. In 2000, it had a population of 8,200, comprising whites, African-Americans,
and a smaller percentage of Latino and Asian residents. The median family
income is approximately $42,000 a year. In the early 1800’s, “the
Bay,” as it called, became a popular resort spot for Natchez planters
and New Orleans aristocrats. The town is known widely for its pristine
beaches, art galleries, antique and souvenir shops, restaurants, and a
prestigious Catholic high school. |
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Further information about the Freeport drive to aid the
Bay may be obtained from:
Freeport Hurricane Relief Fund
73 South Long
Beach Avenue
Freeport, NY 11520
Donations may be made out to the Freeport
Hurricane Relief Fund. |
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