Community

Maricopa family aiding children displaced by Hurricane Katrina

Sep 4, 2005

After seeing the devastation and the sad plight of the victims of Hurricane Katrina, Americans are rallying to help. The Schroeder family here in Maricopa is no exception. They are determined to Help Our Children Help Their Children.

The Schroeders, Mike and Micki, and their children Amber, 10, Gabe, almost 8 and four-year-old twins, Sy and Becki, have lived in the Villages at El Dorado for only a month.

“I usually really monitor what the kids watch on television, but this last week I wanted them to see and understand how bad things really are for so many people,” said Micki. “I told them, ‘this is what’s happening’.”

When Amber saw the news reports on Katrina, she asked her mom, “Mommy, what can we do? What can WE do?”

According to the family’s flyer regarding their project: “Our children desperately wanted to help. They have asked what we can do. Do we take in families, take in the homeless? Big companies have stepped in to provide help. We came up with a tangible plan to help for an immediate need.”

The Schroeder’s project involves amassing donations of school supplies and backpacks. Think about what your children or grandchildren needed to start school. Even high school and college students need various supplies for the academic year.

The family does not want monetary donations or gift cards. They are hoping to get backpacks and items like these:

. Crayons, markers, spiral and composition notebooks, pencil sharpeners, highlighters, erasers, glue sticks, rulers with metric markings, packs of #2 pencils, pocket and three-hole folders with pockets, zippered pencil cases, blunt tip scissors, boxes of tissues and band-aids.
· Disposable cameras to help make “new” memories
· New, small plush or stuffed animals
· Backpacks

Put items in a backpack, listing the contents on the inside flap to assist volunteers in making them age appropriate.

Include a message of encouragement for the child who will receive the backpack as he or she starts school in a new place with new friends, but little in the way of personal possessions or toys.

Both of the Schroeder parents have family in the Houston area. Micki’s cousins, Scott and Shawn Naughton will use their home as a reception point for the backpack project. The youth ministry program at St. Simon and Jude in the The Woodlands, Texas, will distribute the backpacks to schools in the area that are enrolling hurricane-displaced students.

Although they do not want to accept monetary donations, the Schroeders are hoping to find a company or someone’s friend or relative who might have contacts to enable them to get the backpacks to Texas. They will be collecting items until Sunday, September 18. That deadline was established in order to get the backpacks to Texas in time for the children’s inclusion into the Texas school system.

“Americans need to be doing something right now,” said Mike. “I work for Intel, and they are matching employee donations. But even if you can only put your two cents in, it all helps. Whether we get five or 50 backpacks, we’ll be doing something.”

Remember, you have until September 18 to fill a backpack. The goal is to “Help Our Children Help Their Children.”

For information, to find a pick up or drop off point, or to provide help in getting the backpacks to Texas, contact the Schroeders by email or by phone at (520) 568-4186 or (480) 516-1909 (cell).