On Sunday, November 20, 2005, Pickin' Up the Pieces Relief Corps delivered over 350 Thanksgiving meals to families in Pearlington and Lakeshore, Mississippi and Bayou La Batre, Alabama.  In addition, over 300 blankets, two dozen boxes of clothes and household goods and several cases of canned food were handed out.  Every meal was accompanied by a pecan pie and cake of several varities generously donated by Savannah Candy Kitchen.  Over 100 Bibles, gifts of Catherine and Ashley Smith, were also given.  This successful project was a collaboration of Pickin' Up the Pieces and Charles Ellis Montessori Academy.

In Pearlington, MS, Pickin' Up the Pieces delivered Thanksgiving meals to 50 students and 25 staff from Charles B. Murphy Elementary School.  A large number of infant and toddler items were given to several families with very young members.  Boxes of clothes were also distributed.  Pearlington resident,  Mrs Susie Necaise, provided her FEMA trailer for the Pickin' Up the Pieces team and permitted them to set up a distribution center in her front yard.  The devastation of Hurricane Katrina remained painfully apparent with tents, campers and motorhomes situated along this tract of land just being developed prior to the storm's landfall on August 29, 2005.  Virtually nothing remained of the homes these folks had worked so hard to build. 

In Lakeshore, MS, Pickin' Up the Pieces delivered Thanksgiving meals to over 300 students and staff from Gulfview Elementary School.  The distribution line was established in the parking lot of the decimated school.  Several teachers and staff showed up to assist in the effort, personally handing meals to students with offers of love and encouragement.  Students were blankets and an informal "country store" was set up across from the distribution line where families could "shop" for clothes, bedding, shoes and other items.  Through the kind gift of Lynn and Tom Withers, Pickin' Up the Pieces replaced Gulfview's destroyed piano with one donated by the Withers.  Touring the school buildings with Gulfview lead teacher Maria Lott  was heartbreaking and difficult to comprehend.  Admist the total devastation, one of the eeriest sites were the numerous wall clocks, hanging inches below the ceilings, all stopped at 9:35 a.m.  By that time, nearly the entire school was underwater.

As a result of the generosity of so many compassionate and caring people, Pickin' Up the Pieces was fortunate to be able to make a third delivery of Thanksgiving meals to staff at Hancock Middle School, who have so kindly taken in both of our adopted elementary schools.  Pickin' Up the Pieces then stopped at Bayou La Batre, Alabama as the team was in route back to Savannah and delivered nearly half a ton of canned food, clothes and other items to a Laotian community at their Buddhist temple complex.

All said, Pickin' Up the Pieces hauled a 24' trailer and a 12' trailer full of several tons of food and supplies to the needy families on the Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coast.  So many people were responsible for making this happen that it would be quite a task to list them all.  Several were particularly helpful in the logistics of the project and deserve special recognition.  Once again, Chemical South came through with a donated trailer.  So, too, did Jacci Eubanks and William Askin.  Paul Robinson permitted Pickin' Up the Pieces to stage the project from one of his warehouses.  Both SCAD Cafe and Southern Marine Supply Co. provided freezer space for the dozens of cases of desserts donated by Savannah Candy Kitchen.  Numerous individuals donated food and financial gifts, and endless hours of food bagging, loading and distribution were given by Caroline Lugo-Vina, Michelle and Dallas Strickland, Tiffany Talley and Teresa Edwards, who also collected items at her beauty shop in Covington, Georgia.  One especially warm financial gift came from brothers 7 year old Max and 8 year old Billy Sires, who had collected "tips" and delivered them to Pickin' Up the Pieces to help their brothers and sisters in need.

To date, Pickin' Up the Pieces has delivered nearly 20 tons of supplies to the Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coast.  Financial gifts have exceeded $13,000.00, including $8,500.00 collected and donated by Congregation Mickve Israel for supplies purchases and delivery to Jacob's Ladder, the massive hurricane relief effort of the Union of Reform Judaism, and nearly $1,900.00 collected and donated by Charles Ellis Montessori Academy, with whom Pickin' Up the Pieces has partnered in both the Thanksgiving and upcoming Holiday projects.