On Sept. 26, Hurricane Helene unexpectedly made landfall in western North Carolina. Two weeks later on Oct. 9, Hurricane Milton, the worst hurricane the area had seen in over 100 years, hit the Tampa Bay region.
Samford University is home to students from all across the nation – including these areas hit by the hurricanes.
Piper Berry, a freshman biology major, is from Black Mountain, North Carolina, a town that was struck by Hurricane Helene. Her family made it through the storm – their home and livelihood are still standing. They have used this opportunity to help the community around them.
“My family’s basically set up a help center in our church,” said Berry. “They have tons of people, they have showers – because there’s a bunch of trailer parks in the area and all the trailers are gone. There are hundreds of people without family or without houses.”
Berry’s father, Phil Berry, is the director of Camps Ridgecrest and Crestridge, which are located in Black Mountain, North Carolina. Both camps sustained minimal damage in the storm and are now being used as the hub for relief efforts for the western North Carolina community as a whole.
“A lot of the first responders are all staying at camp in cabins,” said Berry. “They needed somewhere to stay, and so my dad just opened it up and he was like, ‘Yeah, we’ll stay here.’”
Berry, being away from her family for the first time in life, was shaken by a disaster of this proportion striking so close to home.
“I just felt so helpless,” she said.
Hagan Dietrich, a freshman human development and family science major, described a similar feeling.
“It has been so stressful to be six hours away from home when all of this is happening, especially since this is my first time being away from my family when a natural disaster occurs,” said Dietrich.
Dietrich has taken a hands-on approach to the disaster and is leading her own personal fundraising campaign. All of the proceeds she makes go to relief efforts in eastern Tennessee.
“I want to help the home I’ve known for 18 years of my life, and since I can’t be there physically, I came up with another way of hurricane relief: designing and selling game-day buttons,” said Dietrich.
Dietrich has raised almost $1,000 for relief.
“My goal is to raise $2,000, if not more,” she said.
Samford has launched its own relief efforts to assist the students and families with recovery. Samford’s Panhellenic Council is hosting a gift card drive – students can donate gift cards to places like grocery stores, Target, Walmart, Home Depot and Lowe’s to be given to families who have been affected by the hurricane.
“They have also sent out a Google Form to chapter presidents asking about girls who have been affected by the hurricane and any specific needs they have,” said Vivian Crump, a representative of Samford Panhellenic.
Additionally, Samford Cares, Samford’s student wellness clinic, has reached out to affected students to offer counseling services.
“Someone (from Samford Cares) called me and reached out to me, which was sweet,” said Berry.
Samford and its students will continue to offer assistance to hurricane survivors as they begin to repair the damage.
“Most importantly, you can help by praying for those affected by the hurricanes,” Dietrich said.
Students can purchase pins from Dietrich by messaging on Instagram @hagan.dietrich or on Venmo @hagandietrich_. Students can also give to small businesses affected by the hurricane through regionahead.com.
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