#WCCares, Campus Organizations Raise Over $5000 for Hurricane Victims

Hurricane Harvey left the people of Southern Texas and Louisiana with 27 trillion gallons of rain, $90 billion worth of damage and 30,000 people without a home, according to CNN and Forbes. As Hurricane Irma slashed through Florida, The Guardian reports the storm caused the relocation of over 160,000 people. Hurricane Maria, the strongest hurricane to make landfall in Puerto Rico since 1928, have left millions without power, fresh water, food and communications in much of the island.

Even though Westminster College safely rests hundreds of miles away from the epicenter of the storms, senior Christian Na and the Student Government Association (SGA) brought a full-functioning service drive together in less than a week to aid hurricane victims. 

“When people recognize the need, people will get together and do it,” senior SGA Service Chair Liz Smith said. “Westminster is a tight-knit group and a service-oriented campus, so if people are asked to help they will. People in the world need help now.  When people need help, you do it, not just when it's convenient for you.” 

During the month of September, SGA and the sisters of Zeta Tau Alpha collected monetary donations, gently used clothes, unperishable food items, toiletries, diapers, and other provisions to send to the Texas Diaper Bank, Houston Food Bank, Abundant Life Christian Center, The Hive Society and other areas affected by the storms. With matching funds from Westminster President Kathy Brittain Richardson, over $5,000 has been raised to support hurricane relief. For the rest of October, monetary donations can be delivered to Student Affairs in the McKelvey Campus Center between 9-4:30 p.m.

“We encourage all students, faculty, administrators, alumni, and community members to give! These hurricane victims are our family,” Na said.  “And we believe in humans’ purpose of taking care of each other.”

Hurricane victims need help now, and Westminster joined together in light of busy schedules and the bustle of the beginning of the new semester to turn a disaster into a sense of hope. 

For more information, contact Tom Fields at fieldste@westminster.edu or 724-946-7190.

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