{"id":34433,"date":"2024-10-08T17:11:11","date_gmt":"2024-10-08T21:11:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/?p=34433"},"modified":"2024-10-09T09:33:47","modified_gmt":"2024-10-09T13:33:47","slug":"furmans-helping-hands-seek-chances-to-contribute-after-helene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/furmans-helping-hands-seek-chances-to-contribute-after-helene\/","title":{"rendered":"Furman\u2019s helping hands seek chances to contribute after Helene"},"content":{"rendered":"

As cleanup and utility crews still work to help communities recover from the damage of Hurricane Helene, Furman University students, faculty and staff are finding ways to help people impacted by the storm.<\/p>\n

Over the weekend, students helped pack toiletry kits given to utility workers who were on campus, and the Heller Service Corps<\/a> met Monday to discuss relief efforts they may pursue, said Jason Cassidy, assistant vice president for Student Life and dean of students.<\/p>\n

\"Two

Regan Kennedy \u201925, left, joins Debbra Alvarado of the Hispanic Alliance, to hand out meals at Neighborhood Focus while helping with relief efforts for Hurricane Helene on Monday, October 7, 2024.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWe want to make sure that we provide impactful and intentional aid, so we are looking at the best way to make that happen,\u201d said Meredithe Carr, assistant director of the Trone Student Center, orientation and Heller Service Corps.<\/p>\n

The Paladins are rallying the Furman family to donate supplies for those affected by Hurricane Helene. In partnership with Ingles Markets and Harvest Hope, people are encouraged to bring needed items to the Furman Fan Zone beside Paladin Stadium between 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Some of the items needed include toiletries, non-perishable foods, bottled water, flashlights, batteries, diapers and baby food.<\/p>\n

Cayleigh Heaberlin \u201828 and Alex Cimo \u201828 were among the students helping pack toiletry kits over the weekend. Heaberlin said they were looking for other ways to help when a friend told them about efforts to distribute food and supplies in the Berea community, near campus. They and other Furman students helped volunteers Monday at Neighborhood Focus<\/a> hand out plates of food, provided by FEMA and other donors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m from up north, and I didn\u2019t know how impactful a hurricane could be,\u201d Cimo said. \u201cJust being here volunteering at Neighborhood Focus, you hear about so many people still having issues with power.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neighborhood Focus played host to other organizations, including the American Red Cross and LiveWell along with volunteers from the United Way, local schools and other community organizations. Holly Roberts, owner of The Codfather Nexton, a fish and chips restaurant in Summerville, South Carolina, near Charleston, brought enough food to provide about 600 meals for families that came to receive aid.<\/p>\n

Jos\u00e9 Morales-Martinez, a social worker at nearby Berea High School, said Monday\u2019s efforts to provide for local families still living without power grew quickly as volunteers and donors seized the opportunity to help. There\u2019s no manual on how to handle providing aid after a disaster, he said, but it was encouraging to see the number of people looking for ways to serve.<\/p>\n

At Furman, staff are striving to channel students\u2019 willingness to help.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are working with student organizations to coordinate efforts and should have a better idea of what that will look like in the coming days,\u201d said Jessica Berkey-Barnes, associate dean of student involvement and engagement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As cleanup and utility crews still work to help communities recover from the damage of Hurricane Helene, Furman University students, faculty and staff are finding ways to help people impacted by the storm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":34427,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[98,2384],"tags":[199,3041,3048,3046,3047],"class_list":["post-34433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-heller-service-corps","category-trone-center-for-mental-fitness","tag-heller-service-corps","tag-hurricane-helene","tag-neighborhood-focus","tag-relief","tag-volunteer"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34433"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34433\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34445,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34433\/revisions\/34445"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}