The plight of thousands of children stranded in shelters in Louisiana has led to local pupils launching a drive to help them ? even if it?s just with the necessities.

Pupils across the Island collected more than 300 ?Love Boxes? containing everyday items that many take for granted, but that thousands of children have had to do without since Hurricane Katrina devastated large parts of Louisiana and Mississippi. The drive was launched by Whitney Institute and Principal, Freddie Evans said yesterday after seeing the devastation on television, the Whitney Family felt they had to do something to help.

He said the East Baton Rouge Parish School District of Louisiana registered over 25,000 students who were displaced by the hurricane. The boxes will be shipped to Louisiana by IBC Shipping today.

The shipping company is a supporter of the project and believer in the school motto that ?together everyone achieves more?.?And although we could not comprehend the magnitude of their loss, we wanted to help in some small way,? he said.

The said the ?Love Box? drive was launched with the aim of providing a bit of ?home comfort? to some of the children that suffered unimaginable losses.

Mr. Evans said each advisory group and department within the school was asked to provide a ?Love Box? in this case a shoebox containing some of the basic items like a toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash, powder, lotion, deodorant, tissues, school supplies, antibacterial soap, shampoo, face cloth, small toy, band aids, comb and brush and some type of snack, candy or cookies.

Students were given the opportunity to wrap the boxes in cheerful wrapping paper and included handmade cards, notes or gift tags. M3 pupil, Saige Livingstone, 13, said if something like this ever happened to her, she hoped someone would help her.

?I feel sad for them because they have nothing,? she said, adding that she had put together a ?Love Box ? for a boy and included a baseball.

Another Whitney Institute M3 pupil, Lyndia Bean, 13, said she still had to wrap her package, but when she told her mom about the drive, they decided to fill it with as many things as they could fit in a shoebox.

?My mom was very sad to see what happened and since she?s from America, she said we should send them as much as we can,? she said.