LAPLACE — The young women of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in LaPlace joined with community leaders to supply hygiene kits to those impacted by Hurricane Harvey in Southwest Texas.

Sara Brooks, Jada Brown, Faith Cann, Jasmine Frazier and Moira Davis, local missionaries and their leaders — Stephanie Gardiner and Kristen Brooks — made hygiene kits that included toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, deodorant, combs, towels and more.

The girls also wrote notes with encouraging messages that were included in the kits, such as “We send our love and pray for you to have hope and peace!”, “There’s always a rainbow after the rain … have faith, it’s there!” and “Praying for you to have hope, peace and feel God’s love!”

Group members said they appreciated donations from the community that helped make the effort possible.

More than 100 kits were assembled Sept. 9 and donated, along with baby supply items, to church leaders Bishop J. Micheal Brooks and Melvin Andrews, who drove approximately four hours to Vidor, Texas near Beaumont.

“The leaders joined other volunteers from the Greater New Orleans area to help provide relief efforts, like gutting out houses and distributing supplies with Mormon Helping Hands,” New Orleans Public Affairs Council member Monica Brown said.

Gardiner said she was happy to work as a team with the girls and is “grateful to everyone who donated or volunteered.”

Five years ago, the same relief efforts were provided to the River Parishes and Greater New Orleans when approximately a thousand Mormon Helping Hands volunteers helped cleanup after the damage Hurricane Isaac caused.