[StBernard] NEWS STORY ABOUT CHRISTMAS PROJECT IN ST. BERNARD

[Westley Annis]

PRESS RELEASE;

 

Christmas morning was made a bit merrier for thirty-two families from St.
Bernard because of the efforts of Gene Boudreaux, a single parent from St.
Bernard who is now staying in Prairieville with his son, Michael Mones, 14.

 

As he makes the two-hour drive to work in Chalmette each morning, Boudreaux
calls a local talk radio show to give updates on traffic conditions.  One
morning a few weeks ago, he also talked about his desire to help out another
single parent from the parish.  

 

“It was amazing.  Within a few hours, I got calls from others who wanted to
donate and people that knew families in need.  The next thing I knew, this
thing snowballed,” Boudreaux said.

 

Boudreaux was amazed at the emotional stories he heard.  He and his fiancé,
Shay Stafford, called every person to verify their situation.  In the end,
they matched 32 families with 32 donors.

 

Although the project was about individuals helping individuals, a couple of
local business owners got involved as well.  Chalmette Hardware donated
Christmas trees that had survived the storm, and Chalmette Refining donated
gift certificates.

 

“It was a very emotional thing, I just couldn’t believe 32 people stepped up
to the plate and gave. What inspired me were the children, my own son and
Shay’s four children, who are now scattered all around the country.  She
won’t even get to see her own kids for the holiday,” Boudreaux said.  

 

Then, there’s the story of a young boy that Boudreaux helped rescue after
the storm.  

 

“The boy walked up to a window, and wanted to eat a fly.  I slapped it out
of his hand, and I grabbed this kid, got cereal & milk, and said we got to
get these people out of here.  That morning when I was driving in, I started
thinking about that kid.  I wish I knew his name and what happened to him,”
Boudreaux said.

 

For those who got involved, the opportunity to help others also helped
themselves.

 

“My mail goal is to take care of everybody I can.  I went through Katrina
and Betsy in 1965.  I remember sitting on a rooftop with my parents when I
was a kid; I never had anything left after Betsy.  People had to donate
everything, even underwear,” said volunteer David Pacey of Chalmette.

 

Boudreaux paired off each of the volunteer donors with families in need.  

 

One of those donors is Patsy Cantrell, formerly of Chalmette and now staying
in Denham Springs, herself the single mom of Dylan, 14.  She finds her son
struggling to adjust to his new life after Katrina.

 

“He wants his friends, he wants it all back.  He was starting on the
Chalmette High School football team, and it was all taken away,” Cantrell
said.  Cantrell knew, as she listened to Boudreaux on the air that morning,
that she had to get involved.  It hit home that helping others was a way to
help herself and her son, too.

 

A week before Christmas, Patsy & Dylan were paired with Denise Callahan, a
single Mom with three children who lost her job at Chalmette Medical Center
because of Katrina.

 

“I was amazed that somebody who went through what I went through would still
be able to be so generous and giving.  I don’t get child support and this
couldn’t have come at a better time for me.  I’m very excited to be able to
get things my children wanted that are too expensive for me to get on my
own.  They are having a tough time.  They were numb to it for a while, but
now my middle son is starting to have nightmares.  I’m surviving on what
little I have left, I’m still amazed that she did this.  My kids are excited
about Christmas, but knew they wouldn’t get stuff because of the hurricane.
Some of the things I bought, no way I’d be able to on my own,” Cantrell
said.

 

Then on a cold Sunday morning, a week before Christmas, Dylan, Patsy and
Denise went shopping for her three children, Taylor Callahan14, Darin
Callahan 9, Brady Frey 2 ½.

 

“We took her shopping at ToysRUs in Metairie.  We really enjoyed doing this.
She told me that I didn't know how much it meant to her and I told her that
it probably meant more to my son and I than it did her.  I am just glad that
I am in a position to help someone at this time.  She is such a wonderful
person and truly deserves this for her children,” Cantrell said.