VIOLET, La. -- The cars line up in the parking lot of Our Lady Of Lourdes Catholic Church in Violet. Catholic Charities is giving away boxes of food, household and personal care items, the cartons packed with spaghetti dinners and vegetables to help families, especially those facing tough times due to the oil spill.
"Oh, it is very important," said Violet fisherman Jeremy Lebouef. "Really need it for the family. really do need it."
Jeremy Lebouef has spent his working life as a fishing boat deckhand. But since the oil spill, he has been working in BP's Vessels of Opportunity program, and he says the competition is fierce, the work unreliable.
"I just wish we could work every day like we used to. You know, I'm saying it's like it is two weeks on, two weeks off, or a week on, week off, or every other rotation, you work four days, and you're off eight days."
The Oklahoma charity Feed The Children sent a truckload of supplies to Violet, enough to help 400 families. A team of volunteers from Catholic Charities, the Kiwanis Club, and Americorps worked cheerfully in the broiling sun, delighted to be making a difference.
"It means so much because I went through Katrina, like everybody else, and I know what it is like, so I'm just glad I'm able to volunteer here and help them today," said Adele Nunez.
In the Spirit of Community, WWL-TV is working with United Way to collect donations to help oil spill victims. Catholic Charities is one of the United Way agencies, and leaders of Catholic Charities say that the demand has grown astronomically since the oil spill began, straining the agency's resources.
"The needs are tremendous," said Margaret Dubuisson of Catholic Charities. "We've served about 14,000 people, and it is costing about $100,000, a little over $100,000 a week to offer the services that we are at nine different locations."
"We've been blessed to have an incredible relationship with United Way for decades," said Aaron Portier of Catholic Charities. "Annually we receive about a million dollars in allocations from them across a wide range of programs, and we've received some funding that we have been able to dedicate to the oil spill effort."
In Violet, it was an assembly line of aid, as charities joined forces to make sure children had enough to eat.
"I have three," said Chalmette resident Patricia Grant. "I hope it lasts for a while."
Click here for more information about helping United Way, or just call 211.
