Jackson State University

Jackson, MS
Ronald F. Mason Jr., President
8,416 Students

Although Jackson State University was officially closed and had lost electrical power as a result of Hurricane Katrina, the university provided critical support in the days and weeks following the hurricane. An estimated 2,000 students—nearly a quarter of the total enrollment of 8,416—contributed 150,000 hours of hurricane related service.

Immediately after the hurricane, students collected school supplies, worked in food distribution centers, organized relief efforts in their churches and organizations, and oriented displaced students from the affected areas to the JSU campus and the community.

Relief efforts have been ongoing, and professors have continued to focus on helping the Gulf recover. As an example, in June and July 2006, Dr. Zachariah Gaye required students enrolled in his classes to commit to participation in community service projects along the Gulf Coast. The students painted homes, removed debris, and worked in food distribution centers. A total of 75 students participated, contributing 600 hours in affected communities.

Kids Kollege, an enrichment program for children ages 6 to 16 that is housed on JSU’s campus, opened its doors to many of the smallest survivors of Hurricane Katrina in November 2005. Within six months, 134 children showed significant academic and social improvement. The Kids Kollege staff also distributed eight tractor trailer loads of clothes, food, and other items to survivors and supported 80 JSU student and mentor volunteers in a Freedom Summer Program, a summer reading project that additionally was a healing tool for many of the children.

During spring break, 49 students, four staff, and three faculty members traveled to D’Iberville, Miss., where they painted houses, removed debris, and participated in a host of other post-storm tasks. The students also engaged in educational activities related to service, including a bus tour of the heavily devastated communities guided by FEMA representatives; a visit to the Emergency Operations Center in Biloxi; and a walking tour of the coastline with beaches heavily eroded as a result of the hurricane.