Altrusa helps Baton Rouge school recovery after the flood

In perusing the social media sites for Altrusa, members of the Bentonville/Bella Vista chapter read a story posted on Facebook by Altrusa District 11 (California, Arizona and far-western states) about a school in Baton Rouge damaged in recent flood. At the same time, local chapter members received two large donations of children’s books that they couldn’t see using locally, nor did they fit into the club’s children’s literacy projects for this year.

On the third day of school, with everything in place and ready for the new school year, the devastating floods hit Baton Rouge. Books from the library and all the classroom materials were floating in water. Several days later they were molded, mildewed and ruined. The school was cleaned out of all debris, and 500 children Pre-K through fifth grade were displaced while the school was closed.

The school reopened several weeks later at Banks Elementary School in Baton Rouge, which had been closed for some time: It was built in 1932. The school reopened with many children and staff having suffered personal damage and loss in the floods. They returned to school to resume a new normalcy in their lives and there was nothing there.

The club contacted Trey Veasey, the literacy specialist (librarian) of Glenn Oaks Park Elementary School in Baton Rouge to see if he would be interested in the books.

“We had books. They needed books. We boxed up books – lots of books, 800 to be exact,” a club member noted. “We wanted to honor Altrusa District 8 with this donation during Altrusa’s Centennial year. We wanted to get the books a ride to Baton Rouge, but we are 10 hours and 600 miles away from them.” Members contanced an Altrusa Club in Baton Rouge. Their Club, as well as the town, was in disarray. Members had sustained flood damage, and three of their officers had lost their homes.

Northwest Arkansas members worked with Baton Rouge Altrusa to find the books a ride. They work closely with Kiwanis in Baton Rouge and shared the story.

“We received a phone call from Mike Baker, a long-time member of Red Stick Kiwanis in Baton Rouge. He was coming to Northwest Arkansas on vacation and was excited to transport our books back to his hometown. Kiwanis, dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time, was a perfect partner for us,” the club member noted. “We rendezvoused with Mike and Carol Baker and transferred our books to them on their way to Baton Rouge. The books arrived just in time for National “Make a Difference Day” Oct. 22.