April Hunt, a 17-year-old college student and Willow Glen resident, devised the plan with her youth group on Sept. 2 while remodeling the youth room at the church.

"We started talking about the devastation and how people said, 'Help was on the way,' but it was taking forever to get there," April said.

The 30-hour fast allowed the young people to vent their frustrations about the storm and make an impact, said Ron Hunt, pastor at Church of God of San Jose. He is the father of April and her three sisters Kirsten, Courtney and Lauren, who participated in the fast.

"The people in Louisiana hadn't eaten anything for 48 hours," Hunt said. "By fasting for 30 hours, the kids were able to feel connected to the victims of the storm and bring that connection to the community."

The inspiration for the fast came when the events hit home.

The church congregation learned that one of its members had family in Mississippi that had lost everything. The members of the congregation bought gift cards for the displaced family to purchase clothing, furniture and other articles for their new home in Oregon.

Then, the young people learned the Simmons family, with 50 members in New Orleans, had also been displaced.

April said the group drafted petition forms and, during a Sunday church gathering, announced its plans to undertake a 30-hour fast.

"Living in California, we seem so far from all of this," April said. "We never quite realize the extent of it. And seeing the horror of it, seeing it get worse and worse made us want to do something that would inspire people to act."

The group began its fast on Sept. 4 at 2 p.m. It ended at 8 p.m. on Sept. 5. Over that 30-hour period the group raised $6,000, exceeding its initial goal of $2,000. The amount has increased to $10,000 as of Sept. 11.

The fund will be split between World Vision and the congregation member's family in Louisiana. World Vision is a Christian-based relief and development organization headquartered in Washington, D.C.

"The kids really liked the World Vision because they were at the disaster the first day it happened so they chose them as one of the recipients of the fundraiser. World Vision has made a promise to make its involvement a long-term commitment and not a one-time help," Hunt said.

"It's amazing," he said. "It's been a whirlwind. This all started last Friday and in the first five hours of the famine on Sunday, the group doubled their goal."

April said she never thought the group would reach $2,000, but by Sept. 8 the group surpassed it by $4,000.

April said, "We are touched by our community's involvement and everyone else who has contributed."

The group's efforts have inspired and touched their own community in Willow Glen, as well as other communities in the Bay Area, including a church in Watsonville and San Jose. April has been talking to other youth groups and schools about the fundraiser and sending out sample copies of their petition.

"People in Louisiana didn't have much hope and needed help. This is one way of giving hope to them," youth group member Matt Speciale said.

Speciale was at a softball tournament with the rest of the congregation's boys and started the fast late. He finished the fast the morning of Sept. 7.

"The fast was tough--I'm not used to missing meals, but it was worth it," Matt said.

Courtney Hunt, April's sister, who also participated, said, "We prayed throughout the 30 [hours], and kept telling each other about the inspiration we had to do this."

The young people had plenty of water and juice before having their first meal in more than a day at Wahoo's Fish Tacos in Santana Row. When the staff at the restaurant discovered the youth were breaking a 30-hour fast that had been designed to raise money for Hurricane Katrina victims, the restaurant provided the meal on the house. Wahoo's also donated to the group's fund.