Cullowhee came out of Hurricane Helene with minimal damage, however many neighboring counties were less fortunate. Flooding and loss of utilities devastated communities across Western North Carolina and the cancellation of classes left many WCU students eager to get out and help.
Every student had a different reason to volunteer. Some were inspired by religious beliefs, others wanted to use their hands to handle negative emotions and others simply wanted to heal their communities.
“The natural disaster has been so devastating to the area, and as college students, we have a great opportunity to help,” Ella Lewison, a senior, said. “As able-bodied students who have resilience, we are needed to help in the community.”
Kayleigh Dugger, a senior, volunteered as an escape from the negativity swirling around online.
“I kept stumbling across the terrible misinformation being spread about our home, and the backlash from the people here. I knew that I couldn’t fall down the internet rabbit hole, so I went and helped where I realistically could,” Dugger said.
Most students have been helping at various churches in Waynesville and Junaluska collecting donations, transporting supplies or providing childcare.
As utilities started to return, efforts transitioned to manual labor. Students cleaned houses and businesses affected by flooding. This included pulling up carpet, gutting houses, cleaning personal belongings and salvaging as much as possible.
Student efforts have mostly been connected through various clubs and organizations on campus.
Knox Hambleton student teaches in Haywood County, a county that was hit particularly hard by Hurricane Helene. Hambleton was with their partner, a Haywood County resident, when they saw the effects.
“We saw on Facebook from a teacher at my placement school that First United Methodist in Waynesville was asking for volunteers. The next day, my roommates and I started carpooling over with friends, then we started asking SGA and other groups to start sharing our carpooling info and things took off from there,” Hambleton said.
Most students who have been volunteering say that they will never forget how amazing it is to see the Western North Carolina community come together and care for those affected by the storm.
Not everyone who volunteered has been able to maintain a positive outlook amid the destruction. A junior named Harper expressed frustration and fear about the recent events.
“Regrettably there hasn’t been much good that stuck with me through this, I feel like I should have a feeling of hope of ‘the good of humanity’ while participating in these efforts, but they truly fill me with dread. Only two weeks after Helene, a category 5 hurricane, Milton, hit Florida, and how many more after that?” Harper said. “I want a world where flooding and landslides aren’t normal… and where we are connected and trust each other instead of fighting over pointless, petty things.”
Despite recent events, the WCU community has been doing its best to stay positive and focus on the unity that has spread through relief efforts.
“Every single house along the road had their yards full of debris and ruined belongings. In front of one of these houses, someone had written a message on a ruined sheet of drywall that they had propped on a big pile. It said, ‘this is stuff. It can be replaced. Love and Unity last forever.’” Hambleton said.
The resilience and positivity of both community members and WCU students is infectious.
“The amount of people who dropped everything to volunteer was amazing to see. Western Carolina has proved that communities and neighbors will take care of one another during times of crisis and struggle,” Lilly Guinn, a sophomore, comments.
