Money for shirts, used band instruments sought

McIntosh High School has “adopted” Pascagoula High School in Mississippi to help students there, many of whom lost their homes and all their belongings when Hurricane Katrina struck.

The school is raising money to purchase red, white and blue polo shirts that students at PHS wear as part of their uniforms, said Sandy Perrin, a counselor at McIntosh High School. The shirts are being purchased for $5 each, and McIntosh students so far have donated enough to buy 140 of the 500 shirts established as a goal, Perrin said.

“They wanted to keep their sense of school pride,” Perrin said, noting that Pascagoula High is a public school.

Anyone from the community wanting to make a donation can send a check made out to McIntosh High School, writing on the memo portion “for Katrina shirts” and mailing it to the school at 201 Walt Banks Road, Perrin said.

But that’s not the only way the community can get involved. The Spirit of McIntosh marching band is collecting used band instruments to donate to the Pascagoula program, Perrin noted.

Anyone wanting to donate a band instrument that’s collecting dust in their home can drop it off at the school’s main office, she said.

Pascagoula High School was chosen was because one McIntosh student who fled the devastation of Hurricane Katrina used to go there, Perrin said.

Each department in the school is making contact with their cohorts at Pascagoula High to see how they can help, Perrin said. The McIntosh math department, for example, is sending down 200 algebra books that weren’t being used.

The school’s dance team is donating 12 new adidas warm-up suits for their counterparts at Pascagoula High, and the drama club will donate proceeds from one night of its newest production to help PHS.

Because so many people in Pascagoula had their homes heavily damaged and destroyed, it takes a toll on everyone, though an assistant principal at PHS told Perrin the staff there tries to remain upbeat for the students.

Donating $5 to buy a shirt for a student that lost everything can make a big difference in someone’s life, Perrin added. “We don’t realize they are suffering down there daily.”

login to post comments