Even amidst the destruction and devastation of the hurricanes and now the earthquake in southeastern Asia, God’s love can be seen. Even in a materialistic society, people reach out in generosity to a brother or sister in need.

Fran Kormann, a member of St. Francis de Sales Parish in Purcellville, recently delivered a gift to Partners in New Hope, the diocese’s Hurricane Katrina outreach program.

It started with a family of 27 that arrived in Leesburg just days after the hurricane hit. Kormann heard that they were staying at the Holiday Inn and decided she wanted to help. She called the family and asked if she and her husband could take them to Target to get some basic supplies. Officer Robert Welsh from the Leesburg Police Department helped as well.

The family of 27 arrived in eight cars. After Hurricane Katrina, the family first drove to Texas, but they couldn’t find a place to stay. They also stopped in Tennessee before a family member residing in Ashburn suggested they come to Northern Virginia.

From there, a call was made to a friend who worked at the Holiday Inn in Leesburg, and they quickly volunteered to put the family up.

After this long ordeal, Kormann doesn’t find it hard to understand why they looked "shell-shocked" at their first meeting.

At first the family was a little nervous to say what they needed, but Kormann insisted they start at the top and work down. So first item in the cart was shampoo, and they continued down the body. In the baby section, as they were putting diapers in the cart, everyone started to cry.

"I’m really glad I was part of it," she said. Before the shopping ended, Kormann suggested that the ladies should pick out, to their delight, some makeup. As they were going down the aisles, fellow shoppers would reach into their pockets and give money to help out.

The five-hour shopping experience made it clear how important it was for the displaced family to buy their own brands of shampoo or toothpaste, instead of sifting through a donation pile.

"We spent a lot of money that we didn’t have," she said. Kormann’s Target bill ran nearly $1,700 and the Kohl’s bill, covered by Officer Welsh, was nearly $4,000. To solve this problem, Kormann e-mailed anyone she knew asking for help in covering the bill. As a realtor with Long and Foster, Kormann sent the e-mail to fellow realtors all over the country, clients, friends and family. These people, in turn, forwarded the e-mail to their friends.

"It’s amazing to see that people really want to help," Kormann said. "We ended up with $16,000." This money covered the initial expense of the Target and Kohl’s shopping spree, but the question then became what to do with the excess money.

Their solution became a program called "Leesburg Cares." They made cards to be given to other hurricane victims, each containing a $50 gift certificate to Target. They have 215 cards waiting for people who need them. Kormann gave the cards to the diocese for distribution.

After a short time in Virginia, the original family of 27 decided it was time to return home to start rebuilding. Little did they know that Hurricane Rita was about to strike. The last Kormann heard from the family, they were in Las Vegas.