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About the Pearlington Project Katrina Foundation, Inc...
Upon her arrival, Ms. Cole asked individuals from many different agencies to direct her to the hardest hit, least served area. The answer that repeatedly came back was, “Pearlington; it’s really bad.” They were not wrong in their assessment of the conditions. Ms. Cole found people still in shock, hunkered down in tents and under tarps, many without the most basic supplies of food, water, and shelter. While some volunteer agencies were positioned at the tiny shell of a school, goods were strictly rationed and often did not reach those who needed them most. Ms. Cole did not find anyone going tent-to-tent to offer food and healthcare. Most disturbing was the realization that the very government agencies charged with protecting these citizens was actively ignoring them. Identifying many persons living deep in the pine forests of Pearlington who were in need of Tetanus and Hepatitis vaccinations, Ms. Cole reached-out to the healthcare providers of the Loudoun Medical Group who were operating a free clinic in Bay St. Louis. Their nurses followed her into the woods with coolers of vaccine and administered shots and bandaged wounds. As her email updates began to circulate all over the country, Ms. Cole began to
receive additional durable goods and medical supplies for the people of Pearlington. She followed
the model of that original delivery from The Pearlington Project Katrina Foundation was the evolution of a concept of caring whose arms and legs were the citizens of this great country. Thank you for what you did.
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The
Pearlington Project Katrina Foundation, Inc. was the result of the efforts of Angela Cole, a business
owner and nurse of 19 years with a Master’s degree in Public Health. Watching the devastation
of Hurricane Katrina on her television screen, Ms. Cole felt compelled to put her skills as a
healthcare provider to use. She immediately registered with the appropriate federal and state
agencies as well as private aide organizations. As days went by with no response and the situation
on the Gulf Coast worsened, Ms. Cole decided it was time to draw-upon diverse skills honed throughout
her career as a nurse and as an independent business woman, having owned a consulting business
for the past 7 years. After researching what to take and where to go, Ms. Cole flew to Atlanta,
rented an SUV, outfitted it with food, water, clothing, 
and
first aid supplies, and drove to Hancock County, Mississippi where Hurricane Katrina made landfall.
Ms.
Cole began to send email reports from the field and people began to respond. First, it was Suzanne
and Reggie Lybrand of Newnan, GA who received one of Ms. Cole’s emails and sent a tractor
trailer loaded with supplies to her attention in Pearlington. She went encampment to encampment
and told people of the truck’s arrival date and time. Together, the people of Pearlington
unloaded, sorted, and distributed the goods in less than one day – with no forms, no lines,
no rationing. Photos viewed in 
Newnan,
GA and placed every donation directly into the hands of those individuals who needed it the most.
To this day, that is the model and the success of what was dubbed “The Pearlington Project.”
Ms. Cole garnered media attention on the situation in Pearlington from the NY Times and CNN, which
can be viewed in the |
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