Members of the Total Experience Gospel Choir and other local performers raised a joyful noise to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina on a recent Sunday.

The choir, led by Pastor Pat Wright, raised $5,900 to buy a roof for a homeless family in Mississippi.

The all-day event was held at Kenyon Hall and featured performances by the Total Experience Gospel Choir and four other local performers. All attendees, including the musicians, were asked to donate $5 a head for admission, and $2 dollars each for all food items. The event featured numerous popular dishes of southern cuisine, such as red beans and rice and gumbo, all prepared by members of the choir.

Three hours into the event, Pastor Wright announced that the choir had exceeded their stated goal of $5,000.

"Those $5,000 will buy a lot of supplies," said Wright. "Right now they're looking for building supplies and this will help. This $5,000 will at least put one roof on."

The choir is donating the money through Bay St. Louis, Mississippi-based non-profit organization C. C. Here Hope. The organization has located a family in the area living in a house that needs a new roof. The money raised through this benefit will be used to buy supplies for a new roof, and C. C. Here Hope will provide volunteer labor.

"The family is living in that squalor," said Wright. "He's by trade a carpenter and can do the work himself with some volunteers, and so the volunteers that work with C. C. Here Hope are going to redo the roof themselves, which is good because we don't have to do any red tape or go through any paperwork. We can just work directly with them and they are working with those in need."

This benefit was part of the Total Experience Gospel Choir's ongoing fundraising and aid for hurricane victims. The choir held their first marathon benefit in April 2006 and raised close to $12,000. Members also went to Mississippi last year to volunteer their services to victims.

"Most of the neglect has occurred in Coastal Mississippi," said choir member Sally Reavis. "We went down to Mississippi last year and did some work, cleaned up some damage, but mostly we sang to keep people's spirits up."

The choir also plans to return to Mississippi in August of this year for the second anniversary of the tragedy. Wright stressed the importance of continuing to support victims of Hurricane Katrina now, as they continue to struggle.

"Nothing has been done," Wright said. "The people who were in distress in 2005 are still in distress, because people are homeless and are helpless and they're hopeless. Everybody thinks everybody's okay and so they're giving less, but things are worse than they were."

The group frequently works with Lou Magor, the owner of Kenyon Hall. They have formed a non-profit organization called Seattle Artists. The Total Experience Choir also works with a handful of other nonprofit organizations specifically to aid hurricane survivors.

"Everywhere we go we are not forgetting there are people who need us," said Rev. Gwendolyn Coates, who performed at the event. "We are quick to get on with our lives and forget people who need us after a tragedy. We need long-lasting compassion."

Kat Lewin may be reached via wseditor@robinsonnews.com