Press Release

Date: September 30, 2005 Release No: HP 0502

Aid On The Way for Pass Christian Schools With Help From Seabees From NMCB 7

POC: JOC Jeffrey J. Pierce, NMCB-7 Public Affairs Office (jeffrey.j.pierce@navy.mil)

Office Phone (228) 871-3777, Cell (228) 324-6691

On Monday, October 3 at 10:30 a.m., Pass Christian Schools will receive a shipment of 100 computers, ten servers and associated monitors and printers, along with school desks and chairs and several hundred backpacks stuffed with school supplies.

The donations, which exceed $100 thousand, were coordinated by Lt. Martie Johnson, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Seven’s (NMCB 7) Command Chaplain in collaboration with Charity in Action and Quest for Tech out of Pennsylvania.

The drop-off point for these supplies will be De Lisle Elementary School in Pass Christian. Hurricane Katrina destroyed the district’s middle school and other elementary school, along with the first floor of the high school. De Lisle Elementary will be the temporary home for all schools in the district.

According to Johnson, he spoke with the Superintendent of Pass Christian Schools and the Principal of De Lisle Elementary. They gave him a list of what they needed along with a deadline of October 10. Computers top their list.

“I went to Frank Vagnone, Director of Charity in Action, for help. He told me to show him a need and they would fill it,” Johnson said.

Vagnone put out a call for donations of school supplies. Jason Collen, Executive Director for Quest for Tech, replied and offered 100 computers, servers and peripheral equipment.

Since the beginning of disaster relief and recovery efforts from Hurricane Katrina, Charity in Action has provided over $1 million of relief supplies and a team of volunteers to assist the people of the Gulf Coast.

According to Johnson, this is the culmination of efforts by Seabees to get the De Lisle Elementary School ready for all the students of the district to attend.

In the aftermath of the hurricane, Seabees were tasked with clearing eight acres of land adjacent to De Lisle Elementary to make way for 25 mobile modules that will be used as temporary classrooms. Each module holds two classrooms and bathroom facilities.

“As Seabees, we are always given an opportunity to do the right thing. Our neighbors and friends here on the Gulf Coast take care of us, and we are going to do what we can to take care of them,” Johnson said. “The families of Pass Christian have gone through a lot. This is a chance for us to do what we can to get families and kids back on their feet.”