Floods took over the coast of Houston on Aug. 25. Nine days of heavy rainfall and 130 mph winds left the coast of Texas in shambles. Over 200,000 students were out of school because of cancellations. Most schools were turned into shelters, and their staff turned into rescue teams. After news surfaced of the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey, local Loudoun resident Jeff Shi made the decision to step up and do everything he could to help the people of Houston.
The @SR4Houston Facebook page was born, and the response was overwhelming. Their goal was to connect with churches in Houston and provide relief for those who were suffering.
Businesses all over South Riding, such as Topkick, Kiddie Academy, Jhovanna Hair Salon and many more joined the effort. Able Moving & Storage provided a 53 foot tractor trailer, and filling it with donations became the number one goal of the hundreds of volunteers from the area. Many of the schools in South Riding, including FHS, held donation drives in hopes to help the residents of Houston.
“It just seemed like a natural idea to help out,” SCA treasurer Katy Stefano said.
SCA announced the drive via Twitter, and students were eager to bring in their donations throughout the next week.
“I came in early to set up the boxes [on the first day], and I was like ‘No one’s going to come,’” Stefano said.
But to her surprise, students with bags full of clothes, school supplies, canned foods and so much more were rushing through the door Friday morning.
“More people were bringing [donations] in faster than I could set up the actual boxes. It was just very inspiring,” Stefano said. “We’ve had buses and trucks come to pick up some of the [donations] because we have so much stuff here. It’s a great thing to have.”
As the week went on, boxes became bigger, and donations began to get heavier. For many students, it was important to go out of their way and give to those in need, including sophomore Rebecca O’Connor.
“We have so much, and the people that were affected by Hurricane Harvey lost pretty much everything, so [donating] was the least I could do,” O’Connor said.
“A lot of people [were] being really generous,” SCA historian Nathan Tiong said. By Sept. 15, the donations that FHS gave were serving the people of Houston.
“[Donating] is a way to make a positive impact without putting yourself in danger,” Stefano said. “Something could easily happen to us. If we were in a time of need, I think others would help us, too.”
SCA will continue to do more fundraisers throughout the year to help others who are also in need. Approximately 30,000 people are still left without homes and need temporary shelter. However, the selflessness expressed by the FHS community through the donation drive will go on to help rebuild many of the lives that were impacted by Hurricane Harvey.
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