University church-relations officials are collecting donations to help those affected by hurricanes.
Hurricane “Florence” was a Category 1 hurricane that hit the Carolinas on Friday. Heavy rain and winds put the Carolinas and Virginia at high risk. The hurricane was downgraded Sunday to a tropical depression.
The Rev. Charles Neff, vice president for university-church relations, sent an email to the campus community Friday that read, “Religious Life and University-Church Relations are coordinating efforts related to our campus-wide response to the unfolding disaster along the Atlantic Coast.”
Blue bins were placed Monday in various locations around campus.
“The stories from our neighbors in the Carolinas are just beginning to come in, but they are heart-breaking,” the email read. “The rain continues to fall and the flooding is catastrophic in many areas. As we watch our Sisters and Brothers in this time of disaster, many of us want to ‘do something to help.’”
Some students who are originally from the areas affected by “Florence” expressed concerns.
“Our home was fine to stay in,” said Anna Caison Boyd, dance junior from Kingstree, South Carolina. “But the Myrtle Beach area all had to leave and they blocked traffic coming in. We had to secure our home there before it got blocked off.”
Boyd said it’s positive that OCU is providing donation opportunities.
“Some people weren’t as fortunate as us and have lost everything or have thousands of dollars in damages,” she said. “It’s so great that our campus community wants to support those people because it will definitely be appreciated.”
Adrianna DelPercio, acting junior from Myrtle Beach, said her mother, stepfather and little brother evacuated to Nashville. But her father’s side of the family stayed in Myrtle Beach. DelPercio’s father, a police officer on duty during the hurricane, was in a car accident from the flooding in the area.
“I was a nervous wreck,” she said. “We deal with hurricanes all the time, but this was supposed to be this huge hurricane.”
Some students recall hurricane damage from last year in their own home states. Matt Tuley, acting senior and Houston native, said he remembers his feelings during Hurricane Harvey a year ago.
“The first week was the toughest, not knowing,” he said. “I felt guilt for being thankful for not being there.”
Tuley formed a Facebook group for OCU students from Texas to talk about how the hurricane was affecting them. He also sent one of the donation bins from OCU home with his family to be distributed in the Houston area.
The email reads that “donations of food, clothes, and pet supplies are not needed.” It also said that cash donations will be accepted and passed on with the supplies, but Neff encouraged giving directly to organizations such as redcross.org, umcor.org and spca.org.
Contributing: Staff Writer Amanda Miller
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