News Post

As Hurricane Laura ripped through southwest Louisiana in the early morning hours of August 27, Baton Rouge families with relatives from the region nervously awaited word on how much devastation the Category 4 storm would cause. 

After the storm tracked north, Jeff and Mary Miller and their children, Mary Grace “MG” (St. Joseph’s Academy class of 2016) and Joseph (Catholic High School class of 2014), drove to the Lake Charles area to check on the house of Jeff’s parents. Jeff is a native of Iowa, a small town just to the east of Lake Charles on Interstate 10. The Millers were astounded by the damage they found. 

A 1985 graduate of St. Joseph’s Academy, Mary Miller (whose maiden name is also Miller) knows firsthand the emphasis her alma mater places on helping those in need. So does her daughter. Surveying the damage, MG said to her mother, “We have to help. We have to feed the people.” 

Since the fall of 2013, SJA students, faculty and staff have partnered with St. Vincent de Paul to provide approximately 250 brown bag lunches each Tuesday. Mary Miller reached out to SJA Principal Stacia Andricain to ask if Academy students would be willing to make the aptly named Sticker Sacks for those impacted by the hurricane. Miller and her family were prepared to deliver the lunches the following weekend, along with Muffalotta pasta made by 50 of her friends and Shrimp Creole donated by DeSwine Intervention, a New Orleans-based group of barbeque enthusiasts who cook for those in need. 

Andricain agreed and asked SJA’s pastoral care minister, Sister Chris Pologa, to serve as the coordinator of the Iowa Sticker Sack effort. Sister Chris challenged the student body to “roll up their sleeves and serve the dear neighbor with loving compassion.” 

Sister Chris said she hoped to collect 1,000 Sticker Sacks. But as brown bag lunches began to fill and then overflow from offices and lobbies, it became evident that the Redstickers’ generosity would far exceed expectations. Indeed, more than 8,000 brown bag lunches were donated. 

“I was overwhelmed, thrilled and humbled by the response of SJA Sticker family,” Sister Chris said. “As waves upon waves of SJA students dropped off the Sticker Sacks, I was watching the parable of the loaves and fish come alive right before my eyes. Truly, the charism of our founders, the Sisters of St. Joseph, and the gospel values of Jesus Christ are alive here at SJA.”

When Mary Miller learned that 8,000 Sticker Sacks were coming her way, she was moved to tears. “What I felt was utter and complete joy,” she said. “I never expected to receive so many Sticker Sacks, or for a small group of students to travel to Iowa to serve lunches to the community. We had so many Sticker Sacks that we were also able to bless thousands of others: The Cajun Navy, St. Agnes, St. Vincent de Paul, Serenity House Sober Living, several Catholic schools in Lake Charles, the fire department and the veterans’ homeless shelter in Lake Charles.”

For freshman Anna Castro, her reason for participating was simple: “I wanted to make Sticker Sacks because I felt horrible for the people who lost everything or had damage,” she said. “I just wanted to help them. I think it’s important to be there for others, especially in tough times.” 

One of Mary Miller’s classmates, Tracey Means Lemieux ’85, met the group serving hot meals and handing out the bagged lunches. “She took a huge hit as a Lake Charles resident yet found the sanctity to serve others,” Miller said. 

Sophomore McKenzie Howard was in Lake Charles with her family to help her grandmother, who lives in the area. Howard, her mother, Daphane Stevenson, and her grandmother, Ester Stills, joined the group from SJA to help serve lunch. “My grandmother was impacted by Hurricane Laura, and she unselfishly took a break from all the chaos to help me volunteer,” Howard said. 

Mary Miller has five cousins who are current students at SJA. Senior Jenny Sims is among them. Sims traveled to Iowa with senior Lanie Powell and freshman Sophie Leblanc to deliver Sticker Sacks. “People were crying and just saying, ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you.’ It really humbled us and just made us thankful for everything that we have,” Sims said. “Seeing what happened in that town made me extremely thankful for SJA and for the people in this community who rally and come together to help others. God really called our community to come together and answer His call.”

Senior Jennie Belle Holder is also a cousin of Mary Miller. “In south Louisiana, everyone has experienced how destructive hurricanes can be, so I think it’s very important to help those affected by Laura in every way we can,” she said. “It was amazing to see how everyone at St. Joseph’s came together and made so many Sticker Sacks for those who needed them.”

Cousin Grace Anne Crifasi, a junior, helped transport Sticker Sacks between school and the delivery departure points around Baton Rouge. She said sending 8,000 meals to the Lake Charles area was truly a sign of love. “It gave them not only a meal, but a symbol of SJA’s support so that they know they have a community behind them supporting them and praying for them,” she said. “It’s so heartwarming to know we made their day a little brighter as they continue to face challenges rebuilding their communities. At SJA, we are called to serve the dear neighbor, and our school community responded by doing exactly that.” 

Members of the SJA volleyball team banded together to make Sticker Sacks for southwest Louisiana. Team captain Simone Moreau, a senior, said it was a labor of love. “When the call came from Sister Chris that our friends in Lake Charles were in need, we rallied to create Sticker Sacks,” she said. “Team members prepared Sticker Sacks out of their home kitchens. We hope they were comforting to those receiving them, and we are praying that their community has a speedy and safe recovery. 

Co-captain Morgan Perry, a junior, said she and her teammates felt a connection to those being served. “We are so fortunate to have been spared from this hurricane,” she said. “To have the opportunity to give back and be able to just give those affected a meal, smile and maybe some hope is humbling and warms my heart. I think each player who helped out and donated Sticker Sacks can say that this service project made us grateful for our opportunities, and it felt great to give back.” 

Senior Mallory Matthews made 50 Sticker Sacks. She said that through the simple act of providing a bagged lunch, she hoped to make a small difference for someone who is dealing with devastation. “I want those who received the Sticker Sacks to know that we all care about them at this difficult time,” she said. 

Junior Sydney DeSoto said her contribution was personal. Friends who live in Lake Charles are living in a hotel in Texas for the foreseeable future as their home was destroyed. “They have six children,” DeSoto said. “Knowing the effects of this storm made me want to help in any way possible. When I found out that we made 8,000 Sticker Sacks, I was truly shocked and proud to be a student at a school that could do such wonderful things.”

Senior Anna Delafield contributed 20 sacks to the cause. “It filled me with so much joy that I was able to help those in need,” she said. “Members of my family were displaced by Hurricane Laura and are struggling with so many things at the moment. Even though I was not affected, it touched my heart to see that so many people were willing to help those who are in need. I know that all of these families were so grateful for these Sticker Sacks.”

 

Mindy Brodhead Averitt
Communications Director