From Ida to Ian: St. Charles Catholic aids Florida school

By Christine Bordelon
Clarion Herald

St. Charles Catholic knows what it’s like to have its high school campus damaged by a hurricane. The outpouring of support after Hurricane Ida damaged its LaPlace campus in 2021 prompted principal Courtney Millet, Ph.D., to pay the kindness forward after she saw a similar scene of destruction in Florida caused by Hurricane Ian in late September.

St. Charles Catholic has formed a partnership, “From Comets to Vikings,” with Bishop Verot High School in Fort Myers, Florida. Millet announced her idea to her students at a recent assembly. She proposed the idea of a costume contest Oct. 31, where students would donate $5 cash or a $20 gift card (from large retailers or fast food) to participate. Winners will receive an off-campus pass for lunch in early November.

Partnership appreciated
Millet emailed Bishop Verot principal Suzie O’Grady with her idea, mentioning how fellow Catholic schools helped her student body recover by sending 140 gift cards that were distributed to the families most severely impacted by the storm. She wanted to do the same to teach her students it was “our turn to help others in need.”

O’Grady responded warmly to St. Charles Catholic’s gesture to aid the recovery of the most devastated of her 830 students. Several other Catholic schools nationwide had also contacted Bishop Verot offering monetary assistance or donations of items, she said.

Approximately 65 of Bishop Verot school families had major flooding in their homes and will be displaced until gutting and renovations are completed, O’Grady said. Other families are living in homes with tarped roofs or without drywall and lost one or more cars due to flooding. She was especially concerned that students on financial assistance through school-issued or other scholarships would face additional financial burdens caused by Hurricane Ian.

“This storm has been devastating to many of our families,” O’Grady said. “Support from others not only helps them monetarily, but also helps them see that they are not in this alone. Please know we will keep your school community in our prayers as we know you are praying for ours,” O’Grady told Millet.

To help families with immediate needs after the storm, Bishop Verot and its partner K-8 schools St. Andrew and St. Francis Xavier operated a distribution center out of its gym to give out donations from their own school families, other schools in their Catholic Diocese of Venice, Florida, and various groups statewide.

O’Grady said Bishop Verot is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year with record enrollment. Thankfully, she said, most of the school’s hurricane damage was on the exterior. Once debris was cleared on the campus, the school was able to reopen Oct. 17 and begin repairs without much disruption to teaching. The school put a plan in place to help students without internet access at home.

“The generosity of St. Charles Catholic High School through the collection of gift cards will help us to provide some relief to those families that have been hit the hardest,” O’Grady said.

Millet hopes St. Charles Catholic school families will respond generously to help Bishop Verot Catholic in a substantive way.

“We thank the Lord for our beautiful and connected faith,” she said. “We are stronger together!”

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