Students to help in Katrina cleanup

MOSCOW, Idaho – A handful of Idaho high school students are planning a spring break trip to help recovery efforts in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

The group of about two dozen students has purchased plane tickets and are now collecting food for a local food bank as practice for the trip.

In Louisiana, the group that calls itself the Moscow Crew will help the St. Bernard Recovery Project with the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity.

They’ll help with cleanup efforts, building homes in areas where homes were either destroyed or stand to be condemned.

One of the organizers, 18-year-old Brendan Lind, said doing other service projects, like food drives, helps create awareness.

“This lets people know who we are,” he told the Moscow-Pullman Daily News as he handed out flyers.

In the coming weeks and months, the students will prepare for the trip by gathering supplies like sleeping bags and clothing for themselves.

The group isn’t affiliated with Moscow High School where they attend and won’t be getting any credit for their service projects.

Linda Nickels, director of the Moscow Food Bank, said that makes the teens’ efforts even more special.

“To just have a group that doesn’t have to fulfill an assignment or something like that is kind of unique,” said the director of the Moscow Food Bank. “I think they’ll be successful.”