Across the country, 29 United Way chapters recently received grant funds to help the victims of Katrina.

Natchez was the smallest community to receive the largest amount given &8212; $200,000.

That&8217;s a testament to the number of people we have served in our community since Katrina stormed ashore in late August, but it&8217;s also a testament to how hard so many people in our community have worked to help take care of the storm victims&8217; needs.

More than half of the money will go toward direct assistance payments for items such as transportation or utility bills.

The rest of the money will help fund a food bank to assist evacuees.

After Katrina, the Miss-Lou was hit harder than most small communities &8212; not by the storm but with her victims.

But both sides of the river pulled together after Hurricane Katrina to help each other and to help the storm&8217;s victims. Money poured in &8212; both private donations and corporate funds &8212; and trucks arrived almost daily from across the country with supplies to help.

And even with most of the shelters in the Miss-Lou closed, we still have a great population of evacuees from the coast who need our help. This money will help take care of many of those needs.

Meanwhile, the money shows that people outside our community recognize how hard we have worked.