Rotarians come to the aid of hurricane-striken child development center

In an effort to restore normalcy after the devastating 2005 hurricanes, the Rotary Club of Houma awarded a local child development center $22,000 for facility and educational improvements.

Last year, the St. Lucy Child Development Center didn’t know where they would get the funds to refurbished the facility or restore the education equipment that was lost during hurricanes Katrina and Rita, as well as several small tornados.

That’s when one of the development center’s board members approached longtime Rotarian Billy Foster in search of financial help.

“We had been involved with the hurricane relief from the beginning,” Foster said. “And Karen Dillard came into my office seeking help. I asked her if the center suffer any damages during the hurricanes and she said, ‘Yes’.”

The Rotarian gave Dillard all the paperwork she needed to get started

“We are a non-profit child development center; we rely on grants like this to make improvements. We can’t express our gratitude in words, we are very appreciative for the grant,” said Catholic Social Services Director Robert Gorman.

Gorman said the grant was earmarked for assistance with hurricane damage recovery. “We were able to replace our roof, kitchen equipment, playground equipment and educational supplies for the teachers and students,” he said.

The new St. Lucy’s director, Marshall Gullage, said most of the supplies have arrived. The rest will be delivered in the next few weeks, she said.

Gullage said the grant was a lifesaver. “We were able to buy things that the school really needed to further the education of out students. I was not only able to purchase more than $7,000 worth of education equipment, but the grant help fund the school’s ABEKA curriculum for an entire school year,” she said.

St. Lucy’s has more than 60 students enrolled in the educational program. “That’s why we call ourselves a development center instead of a daycare because we give the students an opportunity to interact with computers and other educational resources that you don’t see at every daycare center,” the director said.

Gullage incorporated the 35-year-old faith-based curriculum when she assumed the director role. The curriculum had been used at her previous job, and she felt it was excellent program for the students at St. Lucy.

“The Rotarians are so impressed with the things that the school was able to purchase with the money,” said Tim McNabb, president of the Rotary Club of Houma.

McNabb said that’s what a Rotary club looks for when donating money. “They want to see where their dollars are being spent.” He said the school has done a tremendous job in getting the things that they need to put the school back together one piece at a time.

“The school came up with a plan and we are happy to be a part of that plan,” he said.

In addition, the development center is also a United Way agency, and a lot of the Rotary members are affiliated with United Way, so Gorman said they are doubly helping support St. Lucy’s rebuilding effort.

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