By Melissa Navin

One year after Hurricane Katrina devastated the New Orleans area, residents are starting to return to the area, businesses are slowly starting to reconstruct, colleges and universities are holding classes again, and the New Orleans Saints have hosted their first NFL football game in the Superdome since the destruction.

The destructive storm left 80 percent of the city submerged as flood waters quickly rose leaving thousands of victims clinging to the remains of their homes, and hundreds of thousands separated from their families scattered throughout various makeshift shelters across the country.

Many colleges and universities across the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina could no longer hold classes at their current facilities. The U.S. Department of Education came together with communities to welcome the displaced students and to get them enrolled in other schools as quickly as possible. In the wake of the tragedy, the main goal was to provide every student with a quality education.

Many relief funds were also started to provide schools with textbooks, tuition, and supplies. The relief funds also helped with the personal needs of students, faculty, and staff that lost homes, jobs, and personal possessions as a result of the disaster. Many businesses, organizations, and individuals from across the country contributed to the funds set up for the schools in the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.

The Department of Education launched a program called Hurricane Help for Schools (www.ed.gov/katrina) to serve as a nationwide clearinghouse resource for schools to post their needs, and for Americans to reach out and help the displaced students. Matches are continuing to be made today between schools needing help, and companies, organizations, schools, and individuals willing to help across the nation.

The Department of Education has also been there every step of the way in assisting with the relief efforts of Hurricane Katrina. With federal aid, student loan relief, and necessities such as furniture and textbook donations, the Department of Education provided full support for students and their families, and continues to stand beside the areas hit by the storm, making sure schools reopened so that the students could have a place to learn.

Many colleges and universities across the country agreed to accept students enrolled in Gulf Coast-area universities and to reduce tuition and fees for the fall semester. Student loan borrowers living in affected areas were automatically granted a forbearance of payments for at least three months, and deadlines for a number of the Department of Education’s higher education program were extended as well.

The Furniture for Schools Task Force has helped in providing furniture and other supplies to schools affected by Hurricane Katrina. The Task Force matches the schools' needs with private donations through the Web site, www.hurricanehelpforschools.gov.

Hobsons, along with the rest of the world, has seen the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Realizing that a disaster of this magnitude requires continued support, Hobsons, as a company, is making a donation to assist the schools affected by the storm.

The victims of Katrina are sill in desperate need of donations and funding even today to help with the rebuilding process. Even though Hurricane Katrina is now a memory of the past, the effects will live on, and we must not forget the victims or the devastation that the storm brought.