Students from various grades at Thorsby School came together to collect items that were given as donations to help those affected by flooding in Louisiana. (Photo by Anthony Richards | Advertiser)

Students at Thorsby School are doing their part to help in the relief effort for the flood victims in Louisiana.

Student organizations at Thorsby School, such as the Family Career and Community Leaders of America and the National Honor Society have partnered to spearhead the efforts locally.

Joy Hicks is the sponsor of the FCCLA at Thorsby and first heard about the need for donations while attending church.

She found out that groups of people were going down to help in the relief efforts and immediately thought of her students.

“Just because we’re from a small place does not mean that we can’t do great things,” Hicks said. “It is important to have an impact that reaches outside our city and state.”

Due to the immediate need of supplies, the drive only took place for a week, as Hicks quickly spread the word throughout the school.

Hicks remained in contact with a disaster relief team on site in Louisiana to keep updated on the materials that were most needed, such as cleaning supplies and non-perishable food items.

According to Hicks, despite a limited amount of time and notice, the donor turn out still proved to be quite a success.

About 100 students from multiple grades donated between 400 and 500 items during the drive.

“We always try to include the younger students in everything that we do,” Hicks said.

A camper was loaded up with all the donations and Hicks headed down to Louisiana this past weekend.

“Our goal was to get them down there as quickly as possible,” Hicks said.

Natalee Robinson is a senior and a member of the FCCLA at Thorsby, and helped contribute items toward the cause.

“Community helps in times like this,” Robinson said. “Everybody pitches in to someone else through life.”

The National Honor Society will continue its collection efforts and will be accepting donations for children affected by the flooding until Sept. 23.

“Our focus had been on the cleanup project as a whole, while theirs is all for the children,” Hicks said.

According to Robinson, the main objective was to help people re-discover a sense of normalcy that existed in their lives prior to the flooding.

“We never know when any of us will be put in a similar situation,” Hicks said. “It is good to focus on someone else other than ourselves.”