By Brooke Shirley

As we all know, Hurricane Harvey wreaked havoc on the state of Texas, but Houston particularly. For many residents, clean up continues even after a month since the storm first hit. Families are picking up the pieces, getting back into the groove of work and school while rebuilding after the loss of cars, homes, irreplaceable family heirlooms and, in some tragic cases, family members and friends.

Shanna Dees Gaspard, Brenda Lyddy, and Kim Branum came together to help out the victims of the devastation. Altogether, these ladies were able to collect 332 purses filled with different items women, children, and even men might need in this situation. For many, even having something as small as a toothbrush means the world to them after losing everything.

The purses were loaded into a Suburban that Milton Miliken and Robert Hable from Foy Motor Co. loaned these ladies to haul them to Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Deridder. “It actually took two vehicles to haul all of the donations from residents in Sabine and Natchitoches Parish,” said Gaspard. “Monetary donations were also made to gather supplies to fill more purses and bags.”