Randolph adopts Southern city for long haul

Natchez, Miss., is 1,542 miles from Randolph, Mass. But it might as well be one town over, considering the neighborly way Randolph has extended a hand across the distance to help the Southern city in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Randolph officials and residents have adopted Natchez as a sister city and have created a nonprofit organization called Randolph Aids Natchez (RAN) to help provide food, clothing, school supplies, and more for families who relocated from New Orleans to Natchez after the devastating hurricane.

Paul Fernandes, the Randolph Board of Selectmen's chairman, proposed the idea after talking with a graduate school friend -- Howard Corey of Easton -- who has family members who live in Natchez.

''Howard called me and said, 'Paul, you are the only politician I know; can we do something?' " Fernandes recently recalled. ''At that point, I was thinking I needed to send somebody something."

Instead, Fernandes picked up the phone and called the mayor of Natchez, Phillip West, to find out more about the needs of the town. That call led to the creation of the nonprofit, which is chaired by Rena Baker, the director of elderly services in town; James Campbell, director of veterans services; and school Superintendent Richard Silverman. Town staff, business leaders, religious groups, and civil groups are also involved in the effort.

Recently the organization sponsored a family movie night in which the admission was new toys, which will be sent to the Mississippi children for Christmas. But efforts extend beyond that; Randolph Aids Natchez plans to continue to raise money and support the town for at least a year.

''It would have been easy to just send a check and be done with it," said Fernandes. But residents realized it would take more. ''You are talking about people who had to evacuate, and they can't get back any time soon. Families are going to be in need for awhile."

Fernandes's friend Corey coordinated a block party in Easton that raised $2,500. Randolph public schools have adopted the schools in Natchez, and students, cafeteria workers, and educators have helped raise nearly $8,000 to pay for supplies and clothing for children who arrived in town with nothing, according to Campbell, treasurer of Randolph Aids Natchez.

The Randolph Chamber of Commerce donated $2,000 from one of its fund-raisers. And on Dec. 27, Randolph Aids Natchez will be holding a holiday bash at Vincent's Nightclub in Randolph from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m.

''It's an effort of people helping people in the sense of community," said Campbell. ''It's something we should all do."

Natchez, which didn't sustain major damage during Katrina, became the place of refuge for an estimated 12,000 to 18,000 people who fled New Orleans, which is a three-hour drive away, according to the mayor.

''Our city is only about 18,000 persons. We were not prepared in terms of resources to address this kind of disaster," said Mayor West. ''Every parking lot in our city was full of people sleeping in cars . . . We had a community where there were people everywhere. There were 10, 15, 20 people living in individual households."

At one time, the public school system had more than 600 newly relocated students, adding to the 5,000 already in the system. The number of new students has dwindled. But many of the families who thought they had come to Natchez temporarily have decided to stay because they lost everything in the hurricane, said West. And a recent inventory of hotels indicated that at least 800 people still don't have a permanent place to live, he said.

The money from Randolph will help support a new supply center that has been set up for evacuees, he said. The town also has, with the help of the United Way, set up a permanent food and clothing bank to help families.

Before Katrina, West said, he had never heard of Randolph, Mass. But he plans to be there for the holiday fund-raiser for his town.

''We are tremendously grateful," he said. ''It's a tremendous show of concern on the part of the town of Randolph."

Sandy Coleman can be reached at sbcoleman@globe.com