Minnesotans helping those affected by Hurricane Laura in Louisiana

Minnesotans are helping those affected by Hurricane Laura in Louisiana.

A Cottage Grove mother, Sheletta Brundidge, lost five close relatives during Hurricane Laura in Lake Charles, La. Now, she’s turning her pain into productivity, helping others, and a group of other Minnesotans is also lending a helping hand.

"These are my aunts and uncles and first cousins that died [in Hurricane Laura], so I wanted to go down and grieve their loss, I wanted to visit their gravesites, but I could clearly hear my aunt’s voice saying, ‘Don’t go down and grieve, go down there and give,’" Brundidge said.

After seeing pictures of Lake Charles Public Library destroyed by the hurricane, Brundidge — who wrote a children’s book titled, "Cameron Goes To School" — got a team of volunteers to give alongside her: fellow local authors.

"We are boxing up books to take down to the kids who are in Lake Charles, La. They were hit hard by Hurricane Laura, lost almost everything," Brundidge said.

The authors hope the books they wrote will bring a bit of hope to children affected by the natural disaster.

Laurie Hanson, author of "Treasure’s Gift," said, "I just love helping people, so even if it wasn’t my book I would’ve tried to help out somehow."

"I definitely dropped on it to be able to send them some books to encourage them during this time," added "Black Boy, Black Boy" author, Crown Shepherd.

The writers are loading an RV with a clear mission: "#MNLovesLakeCharles."

"People in Minnesota have just shown up and shown out to help people that they will never see, that they will never know," Brundidge added.

Once all the books are packed up into Sheletta’s RV, she’s going to drive them all down to the local library that was damaged for families in Lake Charles to enjoy.