Community pitches in to help survivors

Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2005

Click here to enlarge this photo Rachael Golden⁄The Gazette Gina Quinn and son Joey, 11, of Olney take part in a prayer vigil for the hurricane victims Saturday morning at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Olney.

The men from Chase Partnership House and Jefferson House, both housing programs of Community Ministries of Rockville, don’t have a lot to call their own. But they have decided to donate the proceeds from their annual car wash fundraiser to disaster victims.

The proceeds generally support the housing programs and a discretionary fund that the clients (with staff approval) decide how to spend.

The car wash is scheduled for Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 114 West Montgomery Ave. in Rockville.

Their effort is just the tip of the iceberg of all those who helped out in some way this weekend, and will continue to help in the weeks to come.

Countless students, teachers, parents, community groups, places of worship and businesses came up with a myriad of ways to send relief to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Making room

The Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville is working with Jewish community day school associations to take in students displaced by the hurricane.

‘‘Nothing is fixed at this point, but certainly the offer is there,” said Jonathan Cannon, head of the Lower School.

Class-based fundraising activities are being developed and some school families are putting together backpacks loaded with school supplies for displaced students in Texas.

Two students put together a collection of dolls for families arriving at the Washington, D.C., armory, so children will have something aside from the essentials when they arrive.

Prayers and a place to study

The Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy in Aspen Hill launched a school-wide Katrina relief fundraiser with prayer on Friday.

The program included a student-created slide show depicting photos of New Orleans, La., and Biloxi, Miss., before and after the storm.

The slide show was created by Upper School Students Jeremy Kashett, Debbie Kobrin and David Marks.

Several members of the MJBHA community connected to hurricane victims were mentioned.

Gary Cohen, an MJBHA parent and United States Air Force doctor stationed at a Biloxi hospital, told students about his experience in the hurricane. Considered essential personnel, Cohen rode out the storm in the hospital. He told students how hospital staff put their personal interests aside in order to help patients.

In addition, two elementary school students from New Orleans are expected to join the school later this week.

The academy is offering free tuition to displaced students.

College opens its doors

Montgomery College is welcoming displaced students to register for late-starting classes at each of its three campuses in Rockville, Germantown and Takoma Park.

School administrators know there are a lot of students that were headed to Tulane University and many other schools in the impacted regions that are back home and looking for options, said communications director Steve Simon.

The most important service the college can provide is to be available as a source of higher education for these students, Simon added.

Asked and received

Students from Cashell Elementary and Redland Middle School raised $1,500 for the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund by asking for donations from a little over three hours Friday evening.

Rachael Simms, grade 6, Bethany Timbol, grade 4, Kelly Timbol, grade 3, Clare Lehnus, grade 6, and Whitney Muse, also grade 6, collected the money at the corner of Hines Road and Georgia Avenue and thanked the donors with homemade cookies and lemonade.

A sweet effort

Several children from Olney, Greenwood and Cashell elementary schools stood on a street corner for four hours Sunday to do their part for the hurricane victims.

The youngsters sold baked goods to the tune of $1,075, according to moms Terri O’Connell and Kirsten Verdi, who joined Bridgette Neil to coordinate the sweets sale.

Seeing the youngsters out there waving to motorists from the corner of Bowie Mill and Gelding roads really hit home.

‘‘I think people were inspired,” Verdi said.

All of the proceeds will go to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

Although many children took part, those who were involved from the beginning were Alex Verdi, Meghan and Caden O’Connell, Evan Davidson and Molly Nickerson, the mothers reported.

Redland reaction

Student government at Redland Middle School in Derwood responded to the disaster by organizing a donation drive that will be implemented through world studies classes.

‘‘It’s heartbreaking. We had to do something,” said Abby Hendrix, eighth grade science teacher and student government advisor.

Monetary donations will be collected on behalf of the American Red Cross until Sept. 23. Students are also studying science and economics involved in the Katrina disaster, Hendrix said.

The school has experience in disaster relief. Students raised about $4,000 to aid Tsunami victims, Hendrix said.

Doing his part

When Jeffrey Siegel’s family was on vacation one year, a bathroom pipe in their house burst and left the family with about two inches of water and extensive damages to deal with when they returned.

Siegel, now 15, saw the pictures and knows how his family struggled, said his mother, Linda Stern-Siegel. It took months for the Rockville family to haggle with the insurance company, replace property and get furniture fixed, she added.

If just a little water did so much damage to his home, Siegel said he can’t imagine how bad the damage is in New Orleans.

His empathy has driven him to organize his It’s Academic team at Richard Montgomery High School and coordinate a fundraiser to help the hurricane victims. Although he’s in the early planning stages, Siegel hopes to begin collecting money this week, he said.

Swim relief

The Woodley Gardens Swim Club closed its summer pool season with a fund-raiser that brought in approximately $6,040 in donations and corporate matching funds.

Tom Miner, a swim club member, said the event, originally billed as the ‘‘Back to School Adult Special” party, was scheduled for Saturday.

‘‘As soon as we saw [the hurricane damage] on the news, we decided to evolve it into a benefit concert. It helped us boost the attendance and raise a little money,” he said.

Fundraising, which included children telling jokes over the public address system for a dollar, continued through Monday.

Richard Montgomery High School, College Gardens Neighborhood Association and Temple Beth Ami helped get the word out. The Thomson Corporation and The Washington Post will turn $2,270 in cash and checks raised over the three days into $6,040.

Praying for strength

The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd held a prayer vigil for three hours Saturday morning as a time to remember the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

‘‘We felt that people just need a time for prayer,” the Rev. Pat Carlson, pastor, said. ‘‘We thought we’d open this up to the whole community, so we asked our members to invite their friends and neighbors.”

Carlson said the event was informal, with people coming and going throughout the morning.

The events of the past week have been especially difficult for Carlson, who lived in New Orleans for 10 years before moving to Olney two years ago.

He has been in touch with members of his former church, which he said is under water.

‘‘What I have heard is not good,” he said. ‘‘Most of their homes were destroyed.”

A personal plea

Del. Herman L. Taylor Jr. (D-Dist. 14), whose family is from New Orleans, is also mounting a relief effort for evacuees.

He is asking members of the community to drop off aid supplies at the Olney Theatre at 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road.

Sheets, diapers, baby wipes, canned baby formula, non-perishable foods, socks and undergarments are just a few of the items on the long list of goods requested.

The collection will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. all week until Friday. After-hours drop-off can be arranged by calling Jaya Prasad at 301-924-4485.

Taylor has secured free delivery service from Allstate Professional Movers, which will make one stop at a collection office in Baton Rouge, La., and the other at St. James Baptist Church in Brookhaven, Miss., which is an American Red Cross Shelter housing hurricane victims.

Olney Theatre pitches in

The Olney Theatre will donate 100 percent of the money raised from the National Player’s Pay-What-You-Can Previews to The American Red Cross for Hurricane Katrina disaster relief.

Tickets for ‘‘Dracula” on Sept. 15 and 15 and ‘‘The Taming of the Shrew” on Sept. 21 and 22 go on sale one hour prior to curtain at 7:30 p.m. The performances will be presented on the Historic Mainstage.

National Players has a personal connection to the affected area. The troupe’s intern who helps manage the company hails from Diamondhead, Miss., an area devastated by the hurricane.

Jazmin Gargoum knows that her immediate family is safe, though she awaits hearing back from her parents about her home and her friends.

‘‘Many of my friends have lost a lot ... no deaths as far as I know,” she said. ‘‘I just really feel frustrated that I am here and can’t be in better contact with home. I want so badly to help.”

For more information, call the OTC box office at 301-924-3400.

Businesses pitch in

The Outta of the Way Cafe in Derwood will donate 10 percent of its sales this week through Sunday.

The bar and restaurant features televised sporting events, but more people are watching the disaster relief efforts, owner and manager Fred Beuhler said.

‘‘This is an attempt to do something about it,” he said.

Proceeds will be given to the American Red Cross hurricane relief fund.

Olney Beer and Fine Wine at 18208 Village Center Drive will donate 10 percent of its sales for the entire month of September to the Red Cross relief efforts.

Pets need help, too

Jill Barsky, a pet-friendly Realtor in Rockville, knows the situation in the Gulf Coast states is miserable for people and animals alike.

She has worked with rescue organizations and is coordinating transportation across the country with people looking for temporary and permanent homes for pets displaced by hurricane Katrina. As of Friday afternoon, Barsky said 200 were immediately ready to be placed, ‘‘and that’s just the very tip of it.”

She is collecting monetary donations on her Web site, www.jillbarsky.com, and said if people in the community were interested in fostering a pet, or helping transport pets from the disaster area to safe homes, the best way to reach her is at her e-mail address: jillbarsky@aol.com.

Barsky is also posting pictures of missing animals on her web site to reunite them with owners.

‘‘The people most definitely are a priority,” she said. ‘‘But what happens is the shelters created for people don’t allow pets. So even the people who come out with their pets have no where to go.”