Grishams giving $5M to rebuilding effort

Bestselling author John Grisham and his wife are contributing $5 million to help Mississippians rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. The couple established a relief fund, Rebuild the Coast Fund Organization, at BancorpSouth, a Tupelo-based bank. The fund will assist Mississippi residents and businesses. Grisham plans to hire a small staff to evaluate the requests for aid. The couple hopes to initially employ Coast residents who have lost their jobs and are familiar with the area.

"I wonder how many of these homes are uninsured, how many are insured and how big a gap there is between insurance and loss," Grisham said. "Let's help plug those gaps."

If you wish to help plug the gaps, contributions can be made at any BancorpSouth branch; or by sending a check or money order to BancorpSouth, c/o Rebuild the Coast Fund Inc., P.O. Box 789, Tupelo, MS, 38802 or Rebuild the Coast Fund, P.O. Box 4500, Tupelo, MS. 38803. Make checks payable to Rebuild the Coast Fund Inc.