Watching the horrors unfold in the hours and days after Katrina, many were wondering what they could do to help.

Many gave, and continue to give, to the Red Cross in hopes of making a difference.

A group of seven co-workers from Florence, Ky., decided to take a more direct approach, buying more than $15,000 worth of supplies and trucking them 16 hours down to Natchez.

&uot;You see all the stuff on TV and you get aggravated,&uot; Dennis Strecht said. &uot;Mike called and said, ‘you wanna do something for these people?’ and I said, ‘yeah, yeah I do.’ We got this thing together in three days.&uot;

Strecht owns a gas station abutting Mike Benedetti’s business. Before long, they had five other people: Drew Fassler &045; Benedetti’s brother &045; Chad Martin, Keith Mills, Boone Janson and Mike Nail.

Originally, they set out to go to Baton Rouge, but people told them they could do more good farther north, so they picked Natchez, called Jefferson Methodist Church, and got on the road. With only a three hour nap break, they arrived in Natchez.

Mayor Philip West was among those there to greet the convoy: two box trucks and an RV pulling a massive Harley-Davidson trailer.

When the trucks arrived, church members, a youth group and other thankful people were on hand to help with the unloading.

Diapers, formula, water, juice, snacks, chainsaws, a futon, the list goes on.

The floor of the church gymnasium, set to become the new distribution center for the area shelters, started bare but was soon dotted with mounds of staple goods.

West helped with the unloading, saying he couldn’t believe how much stuff they’d brought. Cathedral sophomore Madeline Jeansonne helped sort items inside the gym.

&uot;It’s pretty inspiring they care enough to come all the way down to help us,&uot; she said.

Shampoo, soap, detergent, these guys brought plenty.

Jefferson Methodist Associate Pastor Faye Hudnall said she understood the Samaritans’ need to get something done to help.

&uot;It (a disaster) makes your whole heart swell,&uot; said. &uot;I had a lump in my throat until I started to help.&uot;

When all was said and done, the only things on the trucks that the Kentuckians kept for themselves were the gas containers they brought.

&uot;They were concerned that we’d have difficulty,&uot; Nail said. &uot;The main concern is really whether we have enough gas to get out.&uot;

West said if they didn’t, the city wouldn’t leave its new friends in the cold.

&uot;When people do this kind of thing to help you, you leave no stone unturned to help them,&uot; he said.