Staff at a local high school just returned from a trip down south to deliver much-needed supplies to a community devastated by Hurricane Ida.

The storm hit Louisiana as students started the school year at Notre Dame High School in Fairfield. Principal Chris Cipriano says the disaster prompted talks about what the Fairfield school community could do to help.

"Service is such an integral part of the Notre Dame experience," he says. "The goal was to make it as personal as possible."

Cipriano connected online with St. Charles Catholic, a private high school similar to Notre Dame in LaPlace, Louisiana. The town, located outside New Orleans, was in desperate need.

"We began a 48-hour operation to reach out to our community and we invited area schools and parishes to join us as well," he says.

In just two days, Notre Dame collected money and items totaling more than $15,000 and filled up a U-Haul truck with supplies St. Charles requested.

"Everything from diapers to dog food to pasta, mac and cheese to cleaning products," says Cipriano.

Cipriano and assistant principal Scott Bannon set off on their journey Sunday morning, driving more than 1,400 miles through 12 states. It took them over two days to make it to their destination.

"There really was incredible destruction down there," says Cipriano. "Seeing the piles of debris and the lineman working with wires still laying on the road 16 days after the storm; just seeing it firsthand was a pretty eye-opening experience."

Cipriano says seeing how appreciative the community was made the long drive more than worth it.

"This was an opportunity to really take the Notre Dame spirit on the road and bring it to a community that was really in desperate need of some attention." he says.