It has only been a few days since the devastation of Hurricane Harvey passed over several states, including Louisiana and Texas. Many people were hurt, thousands of houses were damaged, and the first day of school was delayed for some in the affected area. Several people lost their lives because of the rising floodwaters.

But did you know that another hurricane is on its way? Hurricane Irma may be hitting the continental U.S. over the next weekend, directly impacting Florida and the Carolinas.

Several Bob Jones clubs are organizing events to help those in need in Houston and other surrounding areas, and are planning to do the same for Irma.

According to Aditi Limaye, the co-president of the Math Team, the team considered “donating to the cause, organizing fun math-related fundraisers, or setting up drives to assist the many victims affected by such a national tragedy.”

Aditi said, “BJ students can of course donate to the drives, or help spread the word about any fundraisers, but if they wish to do more, they can always speak to members of the President’s Council or members of Math Team to be a volunteer and help run the event.”

Student Government Association (SGA) Vice President Michaela Philip mentioned that SGA is “always looking for different ways to get the student body involved in the community, so taking care of those impacted in Texas and Florida would potentially be really important to our organization. I think this makes a lot of sense with the purpose of SGA, so I’m really excited to see what kind of ideas we can get moving!”

Michaela is also involved in United Way Youth Council at Bob Jones, a leadership organization based on helping fulfill the community’s needs.

“[We are] currently looking into how we can help the United Way in Houston directly,” Michaela said.

“Bob Jones students should definitely be on the lookout for supply and blood drives coming in the next few weeks and months and really get involved as much as possible,” Michaela stated. “Also keep an eye out for spirit nights or change drives to help raise money for organizations helping victims,” but she clarified that none of these plans are concrete.

Even many of the Bob Jones teachers and staff members are getting involved in order to help those in need.

Mrs. Huskey, the library media specialist at Bob Jones and the sponsor of President’s Council, stated that “the students here at Bob Jones are some of the most compassionate and driven folks I know. If Hurricane Irma has equally or even greater devastating effects on Florida or any other states in its path, I am confident that Presidents’ Council will step up our relief efforts and provide donations from the various fundraisers we have in progress.”

All the organizations working together plan on raising money or supplies to help those in need.

Mrs. Huskey said that “half the battle of our relief efforts has been organizing events including t-shirt sales, blood drives, wrist bands, donations, and delegating responsibilities to each club/organization. Now that we’ve established a plan, we can easily adapt to new crises and jump in to help much faster!”

Currently, there is a school wide drive to collect items for the victims in Houston. Some of those items you can donate include cleaning materials, pet supplies, personal items, baby care items, and bottled water. These items can be brought to your fourth block classroom by September 8th (this Friday) in order to help those in need (and the class that donates the most wins an ice cream party)!

HOSA will also be hosting a blood drive on November 9th, starting at around 10:00 in the morning, for those who are interested in donating blood.

Even the Young Advocates for Equality and the Interfaith Club are both asking for canned foods, toiletries, and other basic human needs. If you are interested in donating items to support the Houston victims through these clubs, be sure to speak to Ms. Worley (Young Advocates for Equality sponsor) or Mr. Congo (Interfaith Club sponsor).