Academy for Educational Development

RELIEF: AED Assists Communities Affected by Katrina

AED has established a fund to help some of the many victims of Hurricane Katrina. This $35,000 fund will provide support for the affected communities in which AED now works.

“AED is deeply concerned about the impact of Katrina on schools and youth programs,” said AED President Stephen F. Moseley. “We hope this modest contribution will help communities where AED is working to reestablish vital education and social services for affected children and youth.”

Current programs in the region include activities related to: economic development with Kellogg Foundation support; our work on Middle Start—middle grades school reform—with various communities in the tri-state region of Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas; and our work with community action agencies in Louisiana and Alabama on Head Start programs for low-income families, including farm workers.

In the Mississippi Delta, AED has worked for the past several years with programs aimed at providing low-income youth with access to educational and economic opportunities to help them regain a sense of structure, safety, and stability in their lives.

The AED relief fund will support such programs as the Quitman County Development Organization, in Marks, Miss., which estimates that it needs to expand its youth program by 30-40% to accommodate the needs of evacuees who have recently relocated to the area.

Funds will also be allocated to two Head Start centers with which AED works in Louisiana and Alabama to help with clean-up, providing extra meals to children, and continued support for staff as they deal with the devastation.

One of those centers is the Regina Coeli Child Development Center in Robert, La., outside of Baton Rouge. Regina Coeli provides meals to families in need, as well as access to mental health professionals who provide grief and disaster counseling. The other Head Start center is the Telamon Corporation in Mobile, Ala.

In addition, the fund will support three other local organizations—the Northeast Louisiana Delta Community Development Corporation in Tallulah, La., RENEWAL, in Monroe, La., and East Arkansas Enterprise Corp. in Forrest City, Ark.—as well as the Jackson, Miss., school system, and the families of AED staff who have been directly affected by the storm will be supported by the relief fund.

“AED recognizes that there are other very important needs in the affected areas,” said Moseley. “We hope to be able to provide long-term programmatic assistance, and we encourage people to donate to the many reputable organizations assisting families in the Gulf states.”