Katrina Relief: We Made a Difference
What We've Done
Nothing that I read or saw in the media prepared me for what I saw when I visited the Gulf coast with a team of MSBA colleagues in mid-January. Four and a half months after Hurricane Katrina devastated much of the coastal areas from Mobile to New Orleans, I was still overwhelmed by the breadth of destruction and what remains to be done. Seeing it personally, and connecting with the people there who are working heroically to rebuild, has left a lasting impression on me
After visiting the Gulf states and meeting with bar officers and staff of the programs we “adopted,” I came away with the conclusion that the MSBA has focused its efforts in exactly the right places. A major portion of the funds we raised has gone to support legal services and pro bono providers in the most devastated areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Our fundraising also supported the emergency funds of the state bar associations in those states who are helping lawyers rebuild their lives.
