Contact: Mario Boone
404.880.8558 Office
404.987.0949 Cell
MBoone@cau.edu
“We wanted the people of Louisiana to know that CAU students care and are here to help.”
ATLANTA (SEPT. 6, 2016) Clark Atlanta University (CAU) students from various campus organizations recently completed a three-day relief drive to help people impacted by the devastating floods in Louisiana. Many of the students’ own families are suffering from the historic natural disaster brought on by more than 31 inches of rain to fall in just 15 hours.
The students pulled their resources together not only to help those struggling to recover, but to live up to CAU’s creed, “Culture for Service.” In just 72 hours CAU students responded with an outpouring of donations to include cash, clothing, food, hygiene products, dozens of cases of water and other essential supplies.
Dubbed “Project Louisiana,” and posted on social media with a hash tag by the same name, the student-led CAU relie
f effort was spearheaded by Senior Class chief of staff Ladaya James of Baton Rouge, along with Elisha Harris, Junior Class president and Ariana French, Senior Class vice president. James is one of several Louisiana students at CAU whose family back home is struggling to rebuild after the worst weather disaster to hit the U.S. since Hurricane Sandy four years ago, according to the Red Cross. Thousands of homes were destroyed and more than a dozen people have died from the catastrophic flooding.
“We wanted the people of Louisiana to know that CAU students care and are here to help,” said Harris, of Lawton, Oklahoma. He was moved to action after seeing fellow students like James in pain over what was happening in their home state. “I knew we had to do something as student leaders,” he continued.
The effort was so successful that students needed a tractor-trailer to ship all of the supplies. By now the aide is in the hands of those who need it most. Good news for CAU students from Louisiana who can spend less time worrying about disaster recovery and more time focused on class work. “I wanted students whose families back home are affected by flooding to feel the warmth and love,” James explained.
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