Following the devastation caused when Hurricane Helene struck western North Carolina and other parts of the Southeast in late September, numerous groups across Wake Forest University have raised funds and collected donations for those affected by the disaster.
On Saturday, Nov. 16, the university hosted a Community Day of Action where around 35 volunteer students, staff, faculty and community members — including Wake Forest University President Dr. Susan Wente — packaged supplies that were collected in front of the Z. Smith Reynolds Library from Nov. 7 to 14.
Numerous groups across campus including the Wake Forest University Medical School, the Athletics Department, Facilities and Greek life organizations, have hosted their own supply drives and coordinated volunteer efforts. University-wide Helene relief efforts were coordinated by a committee of staff, faculty and students, which was spearheaded by the President’s Office beginning in October.
The Community Day of Action was one such cross-campus initiative.
Volunteers focused on packaging goods that were collected during the on-campus donation drive.
“We started off unloading all the donations,” freshman volunteer Ella Kane said. “I think we [unloaded] a lot of pet food, [did some] sorting [and other] things like that. And then we did some work with packing [things] up onto pallets.”
The pallets will make their way to western North Carolina over the next week, according to Shugoll.
The Office of Civic and Community Engagement (OCCE) plays a large role on the committee, and facilitated the Community Day of Action alongside the President’s Office, Facilities, University Events, Athletics and Campus Recreation, according to Brad Shugoll, who is the director of service and leadership at the OCCE.
“Our office has been broadly accessible to try to be a touch point for students getting involved, faculty and staff as well, and provides some coordination and logistical support for anything that comes up,” Shugoll explained.
He continued: “We know there have been student drives that have already supported organizations like Second Harvest Food Bank, and we know that folks have contributed direct donations to organizations out in the western part of the state. We [also] know that some folks have traveled out to the western part of the state and served with some of the disaster recovery organizations.”
In addition to the Community Day of Action, Wake Forest is currently selling “Mountain Strong/Show Humanitate” T-shirts designed by sophomore Emma Engle. The shirts cost $35 and can be purchased online. They were also sold in person at the Demon Deacons’ basketball game against Western North Carolina on Tuesday, Nov. 19. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund.
Wake Forest Athletics also offered tickets to the Tuesday, Nov. 19 basketball game against Western North Carolina to nonprofit partner organizations who have assisted in relief efforts over the past six weeks, according to Shogull.
Moving forward, Wake Forest anticipates hosting more events to support those impacted by Hurricane Helene.
“We’re definitely committed to supporting the disaster recovery for the long haul, and I think today really shows and exemplifies that,” Shogull said.
