Bel Air Family Helps Louisiana School Impacted By Hurricane Laura

BEL AIR, MD — A Bel Air family is collecting school supplies to support those in Louisiana impacted by Hurricane Laura. People can give items like backpacks or donate monetarily online.

All donations will go directly to the students and staff at Hackberry High School in Cameron Parish, Louisiana.

Dawn Jones Kreider teaches first grade at Hackberry High School, which spans kindergarten to 12th grade and has been closed since Hurricane Laura touched down in the area on Aug. 27.

Kreider lived in Harford County in the early 1990s and moved to Louisiana in 2008 with her husband.

"The last time I spoke with Dawn about her students, she had been in contact with 8 of them, 6 of them have lost everything," said Kristen Jones Schirmer, her sister who lives in Bel Air. "This is the second time some of these families have lost everything due to a hurricane."

Cameron Parish, which is in the southwest corner of Louisiana, was hit by Hurricane Ike in September 2008 and Hurricane Rita in September 2005, according to the National Weather Service.

Hurricane Laura ripped through properties and toppling RVs and other items in its path with 150 mph winds in Cameron Parish, La., on Thursday, Aug. 27, USA Today reported.

Schirmer said she is organizing the school supply drive for her sister with her husband, Buddy; daughter Cassidy, who graduated from Bel Air High School and went to McNeese University in Louisiana; and brother Bruce Tackett, his wife Brenda and children Anna, 12, and James, 9.

"There is a lot of damage to be repaired, and a lot of cleanup to be done," Schirmer said.

How To Help

To donate school supplies and backpacks, people can drop off items here:

• Aroma Candle Studio (18 South Main Street, Bel Air)
• Gorillaz Fitness (4 Newport Drive, Suite G, Forest Hill)
• Email laura.hackberryschoolsupplies@gmail.com to set up a time/place for dropoff.
• Text Cassidy Schirmer at 443-987-5013 to set up a time/place for dropoff.

T-shirts that will raise funds for students and teachers start at $23 and come in adult and youth styles; order at https://www.bonfire.com/laura-hackberryhighschool/.

Monetary donations can be made through the following:

• Venmo: @hackberryschoolsupplies
• PayPal: laura.hackberryschoolsupplies@gmail.com or paypal.me/hackberryschoolsupp

There is also a Hackberry High School fundraiser Facebook page.