It is amazing to see how a community can come together in a time of need. As the devastation of Hurricane Harvey continued, which made landfall as a category 4, in southern Texas on August 25, 2017, Connors State College, Warner High School, and the entire city of Warner came together to give selflessly and help their Texas brethren during this crucial time. Harvey, which reached wind speeds of 132 mph and flood levels of 51 inches, (11 trillion gallons), caused unimaginable damage to homes, businesses and property along the Texas coast. Millions were left without food, clean clothes, shelter, and safe drinking water, along with countless other amenities we so effortlessly take for granted each day.
On Tuesday, August 29, Connors State College and Warner high school sent out emails, made phone calls, and posted social media status updates, asking for community members to look into their hearts and pockets and give where they can. Needed items included: bottled water, canned foods, toilet paper, diapers, and other invaluable toiletries. In less than 18 hours the entire community game together, donating more than 1,000 cases of bottled water (30,000 individual bottles), hundreds of diapers, countless rolls of toilet paper, stacks of canned foods, bags of clothes, socks, shoes, large bags of dog food, and other needed supplies.
When people know that youre trying to do something good in this community, theyll bend over backwards to help you, said Mike Jackson, Dean of Students.
Members of the Connors State beef show team, Presidents Leadership Class, Student Government Association, Student Life, Warner Fire Department, Warner High School Football, the city of Warner and countless other members of the community came together early Wednesday morning to load four trucks full of the supplies for volunteers to take to Dallas; providing relief for those effected. Donations continued to roll in from 6 a.m. until 8:30 a.m. at the drop off location at the Warner high school.
After the trucks were loaded, the tires inflated, and gas tanks re-filled, the team traveled four hours south to Dallas to drop off the supplies at a designated relief center. Upon arrival the volunteers then stacked the thousands of supplies onto wooden pallets for easy transportation to the impacted areas.
We were very impressed by the communitys level of outreach with this venture, said Dr. Ron Ramming, President of Connors State College. Texas has seen an overwhelming amount of support during this disaster, and we are glad to do our part and help out in any way we can. Though Warner is a small community, the level of compassion and generosity is unmatched.
To view a full album of the volunteers and the relief effort, click here.