Three thousand pounds of disaster relief supplies made their way to Lake Charles, Louisiana over the weekend after being collected by Brentwood Academy students and families.
Members of the Student Leadership Team (SLT) requested donations from families after hearing about the area where a Brentwood Academy alumna lives and teaches. Stuart Dale Youngblood graduated in 2011 and now lives in the Lake Charles area, which took a direct hit from category four hurricane, Laura. She teaches at a public school where more than 85% of the students receive free breakfast and lunch. Many of the families in Lake Charles lost their homes and their belongings.
“There are people here in Lake Charles who have absolutely nothing, and these donated supplies will help give them some sense of humanity and normalcy. I am overwhelmed by the generosity of Brentwood Academy, and so grateful the school was able to help out my community in such a big way,” says Mrs. Youngblood.
Dozens of cases of water bottles, diapers, non-perishable foods, cleaning products, and more filled the gymnasium until the trailer arrived on Friday morning. Mrs. Youngblood’s parents, who still live in the Brentwood community, brought a large trailer to the school where students and staff loaded all of the collected supplies onto the truck. The truck was donated and driven by Scott McWilliams of Royal Range.
Senior Student Leadership Team member Kenzie West shared, “When we heard Hurricane Laura had directly impacted the community of one of our alumni, our Student Leadership Team was eager to help. Everyone was so generous. It’s such a great feeling knowing we’re helping other students who’ve lost so much.”
Later this week, the supplies will be distributed throughout the devastated community with the help of a local church.
Brentwood Academy students will be serving the Brentwood/Nashville community next month as part of Joe Campbell Service Day. Twice a year, students spend a day outside of the classroom in small groups to serve local non-profits and service organizations.
Brentwood Academy is a co-educational, independent, college preparatory school dedicated to nurturing and challenging each whole person—body, mind, and spirit—to the glory of God.
