"The first goal is to provide educational materials for children as they get back to school and educational materials for the teachers in the classroom," said Gary Shara, a member of the Rotary Club of San Jose. "Secondly, we want to assist the Rainbow center rebuild its facility."

Mike Rich, president of the Slidell Northshore Rotary Club, is also on the board of directors for the Rainbow center.

"Rich's personal connection has been invaluable," Shara said. "He has provided us with the specific needs of the center and how to best meet the goals of our project."

Rotary Club of San Jose has pledged to raise $50,000 for the rebuilding and restarting of the center. To reach the larger goal of $100,000, it is combining its efforts with other Rotary Clubs in the district over the next month.

"As of Sept. 27, we have raised $42,000," John Baird, a Rotary Club of San Jose member, said. "The Rainbow center is the only low-income center and is very valuable to Slidell."

The Rainbow Childcare and Preschool Center is a nonprofit facility that provides service to 90 children from low-income families, Rich said. "The Rainbow center employs 22 staff members, all of who are now displaced on top of being jobless," he added.

Four feet of water inundated the building during the storm and the center didn't have flood insurance.

"As of now, the building has been gutted and the walls and furniture have been removed," Rich said.

"Built in 1983, the center has played a very important role in the education and school readiness of low-income children," Baird said.

"We felt that rather than donating to Red Cross we would raise money to help rebuild the Rainbow center's infrastructure," he said. "This way we would know exactly where the money was going and how it was being managed."

When Hurricane Rita hit the Louisiana coastline, it had an impact on the rebuilding process. Rich said it did set things back.

The public schools are scheduled to reopen on Oct. 3. This is one of the reasons community members hope to get the Rainbow center up and running as soon as possible."

"There is no end date for this effort," Shara said. "We consider our project complete when our goals have been met."