Theater Manager Laurie Brown Kindred Organizes Campaign for Louisiana Flood Victims

Nearly 7 trillion gallons of rain poured onto Louisiana between August 8 and August 14. The flooding that resulted damaged at least 146,000 homes and left 13 people dead. Even as thousands of families faced the reality of the loss of their homes, possessions and livelihoods, the Olympics and presidential election coverage moved the greatest natural disaster since Hurricane Sandy off the national stage. And the school year just started.

While the national consciousness may have moved on, Laurie Kindred, 41, of New York City, has been paying close attention to helping other Americans. She is one of five women running a Facebook page that connects families in need with people who want to help them.

"We've created a direct way for American citizens to help their own in a time of need," says Kindred. While this work has already helped nearly 200 families, the list of people who need help continues to grow.

One month after the deluge, many of those who thought they could recover at least some of their belongings are now realizing that nothing is salvageable. Families who were waiting to see how Federal Emergency Management Agency could help them are now finding that the average FEMA assistance award of $8,0002 will not help them get on their feet, let alone move forward with their lives. Some of them are turning to the "Adopt A Louisiana Family" Facebook page, which now has several hundred families hoping for help from the rest of the country.

In a little over its first week of existence, the page had over 5000 likes, and connected more than 130 families in need with donors. And the donors are not just individuals and families, says Kindred. "We've had church groups and student groups adopt families, running special drives to collect what's needed. There have also been companies who've adopted families. And, believe it or not, one donor sent an adopted family of 12, separated for weeks after the flooding, on a weekend getaway. We've had others donate to multiple families, and in some cases up to a dozen families, on our list."

According to Kindred, over 200 Louisiana families have been helped to date. She describes how it works: "The Facebook page enables the people who want to help to find and adopt the people who need that help. We put them in direct contact with each other, and together they find solutions to the problems caused by the flooding." According to Kindred, donors have sent school uniforms, clothing and kitchen equipment to Louisiana, as well as bedding and toothbrushes, gently used children's movie DVDs and dog food and other pet supplies. "Over the last few weeks, I have been looking around at my own home, thinking just what 'losing everything' looks like."

Kindred, has deep ties to the area, now living in Manhattan, was born and raised in the Louisiana bayous. She also knows first-hand the immediate devastation and loss of flooding in Louisiana, as well as how long it takes to recover and regain normalcy. When Hurricane Katrina destroyed the homes of many of her family members, including her grandparents, she spent its aftermath in New York, where she now lives, filing FEMA and insurance claims for her family, since it was easier for her to get internet/phone connection than it was for them. She also was on the ground in Louisiana, cleaning out homes affected by the flood.

Even though her family escaped damage from this summer's flooding, Kindred's experience made her hyper aware of the enormous impact of the flood's aftermath. "I read about the disaster and watched it unfold on Facebook since there was so little national coverage because of the Olympics and the election," says Kindred. "I immediately wanted to help but wasn't sure how. Then, I saw that my childhood friend, Adrienne Bolotte, in Baton Rouge, had just created a public Facebook group, 'Adopt A Louisiana Family.' I offered to help, and as the page took off, I recruited four other friends to assist us."

Donors have also sent money and giftcards; though Kindred and her fellow organizers do not handle funds: donors send everything directly to their adopted families. "We simply receive information from a family in need," explains Kindred. "We get their names, ages, clothing sizes, and hobbies. We also get the current location to send things to, and donors choose who they would like to adopt."

Says Kindred, "Please visit the page, and read about the needs of the hundreds of families who have signed up for help, to see what you, or your company, or your church, school or book group can contribute. Message us through Facebook with the name of the family you want to help, and your email address. Or email us directly at AdoptLAfam@gmail.com, with the subject line "WANT TO DONATE" and we'll get you started. Please consider contributing to a Louisiana Family. Any donation, no matter how small, will be greatly appreciated."

Laurie Brown Kindred has managed and created live entertainment and special events for more than eighteen years. For 14 years, she worked side by side with Don Frantz (The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast) at Town Square Productions, Inc., where she managed everything from Broadway (A Class Act, Soul of Shaolin, A Tale of Two Cities) to Off-Broadway (All Too Human and DISENCHANTED!), to theme park and cruise ship shows and special events. She started her own project management company, Kindred Spirit Group, in January of this year, in which she is currently working to convert the West Park Presbyterian Church (on the Upper West Side) into a cultural arts center and organizing its capital campaign restoration project. West Park was the home of Noche Flamenco's Drama Desk nominated Antigona.

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