The donation drive, which began in response to an appeal from a Louisiana teacher, was also aided by the Toronto Police Service, R.J. McCarthy Ltd., 7-Eleven, Ontario Trucking Association, Wheels Group, and Brampton’s Forbes-Hewlett Transport.

"All companies should be taking stock to see what they can provide to those who have been affected by Hurricane Katrina," R.J. McCarthy’s president Martin

McCarthy told a press conference as 15 tonnes of his school uniforms were being loaded onto a 53-foot tractor trailer for its journey to Louisiana. Founded in 1956, R.J. McCarthy Ltd. designs, manufactures and supplies uniforms and accessories to schools across Canada.

The cooperative relief drive was organized by Toronto Crime Stoppers after Rick Fernandez, 7-Eleven’s loss prevention manager in the U.S. Great Lakes Division, distributed an e-mail from his sister, Jan Berrio, a Baton Rouge school teacher. Through word of mouth, Crime Stoppers called on Sean Sportun, 7-Eleven’s loss prevention manager in Ontario, who then called on McCarthy, who agreed "without hesitation" to assist. Berrio said thousands of students, who have taken refuge in her city since the Aug 29 hurricane, were in dire need of school clothing.

"As you know, our city is growing and growing each day," Berrio said in her e-mail. "Our East Baton Rouge Parish School system gained 1,500 students just in the past few days."

To date, Baton Rouge, a city with a population of 450,000, has more than one million people living there and the infrastructure is overwhelmed.

"Disaster can strike anywhere and you never know when you may need help," said McCarthy, who has been a member of the Toronto police auxiliary unit for the past 15 years.

Both Sportun and Fernandez are also headed to Baton Rouge to help Berrio and Sid Newman, of the Baton Rouge Crime Stoppers program, get the uniforms delivered to awaiting students.