Friday Features: AUM Athletics & BCM Partner to Provide Hurricane Harvey Disaster Relief
By Chris Megginson
The National Hurricane Center released on Jan. 23 its
official report on the impact Hurricane Harvey had on Texas and other parts of the United States when it hit land in late August 2017. The report estimates the storm, which stalled along the Texas coast for four days, dumping more than 60 inches of rain, caused an estimated $125 billion in damage – the second costliest tropical cyclone in U.S. history.
Long before the data confirmed the need for ongoing disaster relief to southeast Texas,
Dr. Lee Dymond, Baptist campus minister at Auburn University at Montgomery, realized the opportunity to serve would extend beyond the fall semester and planned a trip the first week of Winter Break, Dec. 10-14.
Dymond formed a partnership with the AUM athletics department and led a team of 30 students, including 10 student-athletes, on a five-day trip called “Warhawk Relief” to Groves, Texas. While there, the team divided into teams of 10 to help three churches reconstruct after the flood by installing insulation in walls, hanging sheetrock, spackling, painting and more.
One church estimated the work to have saved them at least $250,000 in contractors’ labor costs.
“It was great. I don’t think I’ve ever had a better team that went on any trip with me. They worked incredibly hard for 10 hours a day. A couple of them learned some new skills,” Dymond said.
AUM Director of Athletics
Jessie Rosa said the partnership was a perfect fit.
“When Lee approached me about partnering with the BCM, it was an immediate, ‘Yes,’” Rosa said. “Giving our students an opportunity to participate in a relief project directly ties into why we are transitioning into NCAA Division II and are excited to be a member of the Gulf South Conference. Community engagement and impact are two areas the association and conference pride themselves on, which is something we’ve always encouraged here at AUM. Anytime you’re in a position to help those in need, you do it.”
Student-athletes also jumped at the opportunity.
Sophomore softball player
Parker Pinholster (McDonough, Ga.) was already signed up for a December mission trip to Arizona but added this trip also and recruited her roommate and teammate
Kendall Tucker (Opelika, Ala.) to join her.
“I really felt the Lord was calling me to go somewhere and to just get out there, out of my comfort zone,” Pinholster said.
Pinholster described the church she worked in as only having “the base of the church, the skeleton” undamaged after the flood. By the time they left, the sanctuary and a few other rooms were walled off, painted and the popcorn ceilings were scraped.
“We were only there four days, and worked three, but it looked like a whole different room,” Pinholster said. “It was cool to see how much we could help in just the short amount of time we were there.”
Volleyball junior
Carly Smart (Columbus, Ga.), who is in her first semester at AUM after transferring from Valdosta State University, said “it was insane to see how much damage was still there and how much repair still needs to be done.”
Smart learned about the trip as a member of AUM’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and wanted to be part of it because of the way Dymond has supported the Warhawks’ athletics programs and student-athletes.
“I thought it was the coolest idea ever that these two organizations get to partner up and athletes given the ability to go and do something that can be life-altering and possibly help them see Christ and be part of something bigger than themselves, knowing they made a difference,” Smart said. “It was a sacrifice of five days, and there’s no telling what kind of help and joy you brought to other people. That’s what it’s all about. Obviously college athletics will come to an end, but building these relationships and doing things such as this with your platform as an athlete is incredible.”
Upon returning home from Texas, Dymond says he’s seen the athletes and non-student-athletes bond through the experience.
“It was a 10-hour drive. When we got back about 6 p.m., they didn’t want to leave. That was neat to see,” Dymond said. “Our non-student-athletes are excited to go to games and see their friends compete. I think it’s wonderful. We’ve seen some of our athletes join our small group studies this semester.”
One of those is Smart, who has turned her experience from the trip into a desire to lead a small group this spring and attend a Spring Break mission trip to New York City in March.
“As athletes, we tend to stick with other athletes, but it was a great opportunity to get involved with other affiliations on campus and do things for a bigger purpose,” she said. “Going on this trip, where I knew basically nobody, and coming home with close to 30 new friends is pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, and that’s where you really grow. Everyone I’ve talked to, I’ve encouraged to get involved in things like this. It seems a little scary at first, but it’s 100 percent worth it.”
Rosa says over the last few weeks since students returned to AUM’s campus, she continues to hear how it was the best part of their break. She believes it has opened the doors to a stronger partnership with the BCM and the athletic department will continue to look for ways to collaborate on service opportunities.
“The initiative our student-athletes took to spend some of their limited ‘free’ time to help others, paired with the fact that they were personally impacted by it, tells me that we have the right student-athletes and that they are already seeing value in having a sense of civic responsibility – two things no one can dispute will make this world a better place,” Rosa said.
In addition to Parker Pinholster, Carly Smart and Kendall Tucker, AUM Warhawks student-athletes participating in the trip were
Chelsie China (women’s soccer, sophomore, Clayton, N.C.),
Hayden Friesen (baseball, redshirt sophomore, Midland City, Ala.),
Benisse Inamahoro (women’s cross country, junior, Bujumbura, Burundi),
Tanishya Jones (women’s cross country, sophomore, Opelika, Ala.),
Jacob Russel Lister (men’s cross country, freshman, Homewood, Ala.),
Victoria McCurry (women’s cross country, freshman, Auburn, Ala.) and
Nathanael Teshome (men’s cross country, sophomore, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia).
Twenty other AUM students participated:
Nick Ayers, Jasmine Boutdy, Casey Falcione, Joseph Falcione, John Forrest, Ellen Fowler, Laura Glass, Ty Grant, Ramsey Grimes, Garrett Miller, Benjamin Jones, Keiona Lee, Alexanderia Leonard, Alonzo Lewis, Eddie Lindsey, Caleb McDuffie, Dakota Mills, Rachel Pate, Arri Torres and
Elijah Weiss.
Follow Megginson on Twitter @jcmeggs. Email comments to megginsonjc@gmail.com.
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2017-18 Friday Features Archive
September 1 |
Mississippi College
September 8 |
Montevallo
September 15 |
Valdosta State
September 22 |
West Georgia
September 29 |
Alabama Huntsville
October 6 |
Union
October 13 |
West Alabama
October 20 |
West Florida
October 27 |
Delta State
November 3 |
Christian Brothers
November 10 |
Shorter
November 17 |
North Alabama
November 24 |
Lee
December 1 |
AUM
December 8 |
West Florida
Decemeber 15 |
Mississippi College
December 22 |
Lee
December 29 |
West Alabama
January 5 |
Valdosta State
January 12 |
Christian Brothers
January 19 |
Montevallo