Operation Katrina 2008 Original Katrina 2008 Story by WLOX-TV News ABC 13 Here: Katrina 2008 Video Copyright WLOX-TV ABC 13 News Biloxi Gulfport Pascagoula March 21, 2008 View Operation Katrina Videos From Other Previous Years:    WLOXTV 2008 Katrina 2008 Katrina 2007 Katrina 2006

When confronted with a disaster the size and scope of Hurricane Katrina, our students’ immediate response was: How can we help? Mercy Vocational High School knew that many people were working together to rescue people in danger in the aftermath. As a school community rooted in faith and possessing real skills in the areas most needed by Katrina victims - capentry and electrical training - we knew that we could help a community rebuild in very specific ways. We contacted our Mercy Network to find out where we were most needed. The answer was: Pass Christian, Harrison County, Mississippi, roughly 70 miles east of New Orleans, right on the Gulf of Mexico, and directly hit by Katrina.

For nine days in the spring of 2006, 16 students carried their school’s mission — and the vocational skills they learned at the school — to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, to help restore the hurricane-ravaged area. By the time they returned, they had forged a bond with a very special parish, and become enthusiastic “partners” in one of the biggest volunteer efforts in the history of the United States.

It was especially appropriate that they could provide desperately needed skilled labor — something many other volunteer groups lacked — in helping to revive Our Mother of Mercy Parish in Pass Christian, Miss. When the students brought their talent and enthusiasm to Our Mother of Mercy in Mississippi, they found that virtually all of the parish’s African American community of 250 families had been displaced by Katrina, and its Catholic church and school had suffered indescribable destruction.

The students used their skills to help rebuild the church, school, and parish hall, with its adjoining kitchen — which will be used to provide food for the children of the community. While MVHS’ trade students served the parish’s community through physical labor, its business students used their skills at the Mercy Housing and Human Development agency in nearby Gulfport, Miss. Business students rebuilt the Housing and Human Development Web site, inventoried software, and helped to create a computer spreadsheet, so Armstrong could more efficiently enter crucial data about the needs of displaced parishioners.

Despite all they’ve done, the students want to give more.

The Operation Katrina Team in 2006 was not even off the vans before they were talking about returning to Mississippi for Easter 2007. There was still so much work left to be done in Pass Christian and the students at Mercy Vocational High School knew that with their carpentry, electrical, and business skills they were the perfect people for the job.

So on Easter Sunday 2007, students and faculty again headed south to continue their mission of service to a community that has already been forgotten by many. Needless to say the people of Pass Christian were thrilled to see the MVHS vans rolling into town!

MVHS carpenters and electricians worked on four different houses, doing drywall work, painting and even installing a hardwood floor. The business students worked with Housing and Human Development, a non-profit organization in Gulfport, to organize a web site that allows the local community to register for housing funding. MVHS students are able today to maintain this web site from Philadelphia.

Working with different groups of people, such as the Amish, Mennonites from Lancaster, PA, and cadets from the Citadel has made a lasting impression on the 2007 Operation Katrina Team. The students learned about commitment, teamwork, and stepping out of their “comfort zone.”

If you wish to contribute to this worthy endeavor and help us help those along the Gulf Coast rebuild their lives, please send a check/money order payable to, "Mercy Vocational High School" with Memo line, "Operation Katrina Fund" to:

Ms. Catherine Glatts Operation Katrina Fund Mercy Vocational High School 2900 West Hunting Park Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19129-1803