1 of 6

Director for Women on a Mission, Peggy Daniels looks at the boxes of sorted donations Tuesday at the gym in the Vidalia Baptist Church.

Rebecca Myers, 21, sales associate at Katie's Ladies looks inside the trailer that contains donations for flood victims Tuesday in Natchez.

Rebecca Myers, 21, sales associate at Katie's Ladies stocks the trailer with donations from customers outside of the shop Tuesday in Natchez.

Director for Women on a Mission, Peggy Daniels takes out the only two cans of bug spray they received while collecting donations for the flood victims in Baton Rouge.

Director for Women on a Mission, Peggy Daniels piles up the bags of donations for the victims of the flooding in Baton Rouge and surrounding areas at the Baptist Church in Vidalia.

Donations begin to fill the trailer outsideof Katie's LadiesTuesday in Natchez. Donations will be taken to Baton Rouge and the surrounding areas for those affected by flooding.

NATCHEZ — An overwhelming sense of guilt filled Justin Adams’ heart as he scrolled through photographs a few days ago of flooding in Louisiana, photographs of the houses of friends he calls family.

The Natchez resident has formed a familial bond with friends in Denham Springs, Watson and Central over the past two years through weekend motocross rides in Louisiana.

“We were sitting there looking at Facebook pictures, and I had friends calling looking for help, and I just felt guilty,” Adams said. “These people are my friends, but they are like blood family to me, and I’m so close to them that I wanted to be living down there and going through it with them.”

At least 11 people have died and 40,000 houses damaged in some of the worst flooding in Louisiana history, touched off by as much as 2 feet of rain in 48 hours. More than 30,000 people have been rescued since Friday, with more being brought to safety by the hour.

Adams said the least he felt he could do was gather food, clothes, water and other needed items and take them to Baton Rouge and the surrounding areas for those displaced by the recent flooding. He and his wife, Susie, gathered items, and Adams and his best friend Brian Thompson delivered donations this weekend.

Adams, a local UPS driver, has now partnered with Katie McCarstle, owner of Katie’s Ladies Apparel on Liberty Road, and the staff of the store to collect items for those affected by flooding. Katie’s Ladies is a delivery stop for Adams on his UPS route, and McCarstle said she is happy to help Adams in his efforts to provide relief to “our friends in Louisiana.”

Adams has parked his covered utility trailer at Katie’s Ladies, and the store will accept donations from 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. through Friday.

Adams will be taking donations to Baton Rouge and surrounding areas Saturday. He will be delivering items to the shelter at St. John’s United Methodist Church in Baton Rouge and shelters along the way.

Adams and Katie’s Ladies are one of several local efforts to collect and donate items for residents affected by recent flooding.

Junior Auxiliary of Natchez has partnered with the JA chapter in Amite, La., to collect items for children displaced by flooding in Amite and Livingston parishes, JA of Natchez second vice president Meredith Faust said.

JA is collecting individual juice boxes, hand soaps, personal hygiene items, children’s pain reliever, diapers, baby wipes, formula and children’s mosquito repellant as well as board games, books, card games and small toys.

Donations can be dropped off at Century 21 Realty at 110 N. Union St. or by calling 601-446-3235 for other drop-off times and locations. The next run to Baton Rouge will be Thursday, then again on Sept. 1. If JA receives a great number of donations, another run will be made late next week, Faust said.

Members of the Natchez JA want to make sure their fellow JA members in Amite and Livingston are able to help the children they regularly serve despite being personally affected by the flooding.

“I have no doubt that if Natchez had a disaster that they would be quick to help us,” she said. “I know a lot of people are feeling helpless right now … and this is a way we can help, even if we aren’t able to go to Baton Rouge and volunteer.”

JA is also accepting monetary donations, with checks made out to JA of Natchez and specifying flood relief in memo line.

Vidalia First Baptist Church has partnered with Cornerstone Fellowship in Baker, La., and will be collecting donations to be taken to the church Saturday. The church will likely collect items to take to Baker over the next several weeks or months as needed, Vidalia FBC secretary Allie LaBorde said.

“Half of their congregation lost their homes,” LaBorde said. “So this is a chance for us to serve.”

The church is accepting household items such as toilet paper and personal hygiene items. The church’s multipurpose building will be open until 8 p.m. today for donations, which will be taken to Baker Thursday. The church is located at 608 Texas St.

Additionally, a group of church volunteers will depart at 7 a.m. Saturday to assist in clean up and demolition of houses affected by flooding. Anyone wishing to volunteer can contact the church at 318-336-7111.

Those who volunteer are encouraged to bring gloves and tools such as hammers or crowbars.

“They will be pulling down Sheetrock and stuff like that, so they can get all the wet stuff out of the houses so it doesn’t mold and mildew,” LaBorde said.

LaBorde, Faust, McCarstle and Adams encourage residents of the Miss-Lou to spare time, donations or whatever they can to help their Louisiana neighbors.

“One day we are going to need it,” Adams said. “We are going to go through hard times, too, and we are going to reach out for help.

“This is going to be months and years before they recover from this, and we just want to help as much as we can.”

Anyone interested in volunteer opportunities in areas affected by flooding in Louisiana can visit volunteerlouisiana.gov.

More News

Capital projects, city-county agreements on aldermen’s agenda Tuesday

Update: Woman injured in St. Catherine Street shooting early Sunday

Man, woman shot near downtown Natchez

‘They’re still veterans’: Female Army veteran continues service helping other vets