‘The Colonel Closet’ helps Nicholls faculty, staff and students recover from Hurricane Ida
“The need has never been greater among our students, as well as among our faculty and staff.”
THIBODAUX, Louisiana — In Lafourche Parish, hard hit by Hurricane Ida, a woman had an idea about how to help families still homeless.
And when a friend of his in New Orleans heard about the idea, the project took off among hundreds of people.
The Nicholls State community knows how difficult it can be to rebuild after a hurricane. Students and faculty have lived and lost to Hurricanes Laura and Ida. So when Student Affairs Case Manager Nicholls started hearing about all the stories and needs, she had an idea.
“I get a lot of hugs. I get a lot of hugs, a lot of thanks,” said Andi Sonnier, licensed social worker and Nicholls case manager of student affairs.
It only took two days in mid-September for Andi Sonnier to open The Colonel Closet. It’s an on-campus thrift store with great clothes, food, toiletries, and household items. But what’s different is that purchases for students, teachers and their families are free. At first, this made buyers uncomfortable.
“And they wanted to come in and, you know, provide money. They wanted to check, they wanted to show us what they were taking to make sure everything was okay,” Sonnier recalls.
When she told her New Orleans friend Leann Moses about her project, word of mouth quickly spread. A few hundred friends and friends of friends sent seven shipments of donations to Colonel Closet.
“We are so lucky in New Orleans that so many people helped us after Hurricane Katrina, and we know the importance and power of teamwork,” said Leann Moses, a New Orleans attorney. Orléans friend of Sonnier.
Donations poured in from other states. Pallets and pallets came from Texas. And there was an anonymous drop off of Dopp kits full of toiletries. Back inventory is waiting to be taken out.
Displaced families are still living in student housing on campus. Some students had to drop out of school to rebuild their homes and support their families.
“The need has never been greater among our students, as well as among our faculty and staff,” said Dr. Michele Caruso, Vice President of Student Affairs at The Nicholls.
“It helped us through some tough times. We had no clothes. We were able to come out here and salvage a few with hurricane damage, and it’s been really great to see how the community has come together,” said Nicholls student Caytlyn Crochet.
“I actually come for the food, for the grocery aspect. So it saves money here and there. As a student, you want to save money wherever you can,” said Nicholls student Abigail Bouzigard.
Students are also encouraged to give back, to reuse what they no longer need. But the main goal is to keep them from worrying about basic needs, so they can focus on walking through the beginning stage one day.
How to help:
Call 985-493-2529 to donate items. There is limited pickup available.
Or drop off at Colonel Closet: 145 Cercle de L’Université’, Thibodaux, LA 70301 on the Nicholls Campus.
To donate, visit the Nicholls website here and click the donate button at the top. Also on the website there is a link to Needed Items which you can order from Amazon and send to the above address.
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