Melissa Lupetin traveled to Gulfport, Miss., this month with a van load of school supplies, a half-dozen violins, her grown son and a mission: to let the children of Harrison Central Elementary School know they have friends in the Pine-Richland School District.

That mission was accomplished, and now it has grown. Ms. Lupetin, a guidance counselor at Richland Elementary School, plans to make the friendship an ongoing one by developing a partnership with the Gulfport school.

Pupils at Richland Elementary are now collecting books, making blankets and gathering presents for holiday gift-giving, Ms. Lupetin said.

She learned of Harrison Central Elementary's needs after Hurricane Katrina through an Adopt-a-School program coordinated by the Mississippi Department of Education. Although Harrison Central Elementary is just a few blocks from the beach, its damage from the hurricane was minor. Most of the school's pupils and teachers, however, suffered severe property losses, Ms. Lupetin said. Another elementary school in the Gulfport School District -- 28th Street School -- was destroyed by the storm and 200 of its students had been relocated to Harrison Central.

When asked what her needs were, Janice Wilson, principal of Harrison Central, e-mailed this response: "Our children need school supplies, as many as you can send us, please. Backpacks, paper, notebooks, writing tools, crayons, glue and the like are desperately needed. They truly have lost everything."

Word of this wish-list was sent to students and staff at the Pine-Richland school, and within days, Ms. Lupetin said, the school offices were inundated with donations. Local businesses sent supplies, the Brother's Brother Foundation donated toys, and Janet Dietrich, a local music teacher, chipped in with items that were not on the list: six violins.

The items were loaded in a school district van and at 5 p.m. Nov. 3, Ms. Lupetin and her son, Brendan, started their trip. After driving all night, they arrived in Gulfport at 8:30 a.m. and went to work unloading the van. The students and teachers at the school were appreciative of the supplies, Ms. Lupetin said, and the violins made a real impression.

"The children have lost everything," Ms. Lupetin said. "When I brought in those violins, they had tears in their eyes. They said the violins will be a way to bring beauty back into their lives."

Ms. Lupetin, who served as a trauma counselor in New York City after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, said making personal contact is critical in helping others. Shipping boxes full of contributions may fill material needs but it doesn't fill the emotional void people endure following disastrous events.

"People need to tell their story," Ms. Lupetin said. "They need to have people from Pittsburgh come down and say, 'We haven't forgotten about you.' They need to feel personal connections."

Ms. Lupetin plans to maintain that connection with a return trip next month and continued contact between pupils of the two schools.

She learned at a young age that helping others brings its own rewards. Much of her family life was built around community service, and that tradition continues in her family.

"My parents are still involved with Meals on Wheels," she said. "My dad is 84 and my mom is 81."