LU Serve Now Assists Samaritan’s Purse With Hurricane Helene Cleanup

LU Serve Now will be sending out three teams this month to provide disaster relief to areas affected by the rain and winds from Hurricane Helene.

Samaritan’s Purse contacted Chad Nelson, the senior director of LU Serve, Sept. 27 asking if Liberty University could send a few teams to locations destroyed by Helene.

After getting approval from Lew Weider, the executive director of LU Serve, and Josh Rutledge, the vice president of spiritual development, a call out form was sent out to LU Serve Now members. Nelson said within 24 hours, the call out form had gotten a great response, and the teams of students were assembled.

Each team heading out will be comprised of 10 students and two Liberty staff members. The travel will be funded by donors to the LU Serve Now program, and the team’s meals and living spaces will be provided by Samaritan’s Purse.

Staff from LU Serve — Joshua Griffin, the partnerships coordinator, and Kathy Chambers, the director of experiential education — will be leading the first team to Boone, North Carolina Oct. 13. Another team, led by Tunya Pannell, the director of student engagement for LU ONE, and Chris Trahant, the associate director of community life, will be traveling to Valdosta, Georgia Oct. 20. On the same day, Jared Shotton, a resident director, and an additional staff member will be leading a team to Perry, Florida.

Nelson said the students on the teams will be serving alongside Samaritan’s Purse to help homeowners with mud outs, debris clean up and roof tarping. Aside from general repair and cleanup, the students will also be able to interact with the homeowners and minister to them. A Bible will be given to each homeowner once the teams have completed their work at the home.

“We, alongside Samaritan’s Purse, will present a Bible to that homeowner, that family, and then have an opportunity to pray for them,” Nelson said. “And then, we all sign the inside of the Bible.”

Audrey Hammond, the executive director of LU Send, said that something special about Samaritan’s Purse is how it partners with “churches in the area to serve the local community.”

“Even when we leave, there is … a long-standing partnership and relationships that are building between the citizens of that area and the local church that’s hosting or helping Samaritan’s Purse host the cleanup efforts,” Hammond said.

Nelson added that Samaritan’s Purse actively points the homeowners to the local church.

“Anytime a homeowner’s inquiring about things of a spiritual nature, … they’re pointing them back to that church that they have a partnership with,” Nelson said.

Hammond said LU Serve will propose more trips once Samaritan’s Purse “gives some directive on where they’re going to be running … projects.”

Molly Taylor, a first-year graduate student, said her hometown in Boone, North Carolina was affected by Hurricane Helene. Taylor said her family’s home and property did not sustain substantial damage, but they did not have power or water for a few days, and internet service is “a little spotty.” Taylor also said there was a ton of “flooding, trees down, landslides and power outages across town.”

“Hurricanes have hit Boone before but never to this degree,” Taylor said.

Taylor said that her friends in Asheville told her the damage made the area completely unrecognizable. She said that Lake Lure, Chimney Rock and Biltmore Village were destroyed.

“Western North Carolina wasn’t built for hurricanes,” Taylor said.

Taylor said her biggest fear as the hurricane swept through her hometown was that things could be worse than what she has heard.

“My biggest worry through it was that things are worse than I’ve been told,” Taylor said. “I’m anxious to get home and see my family and help with disaster relief in our area.”

To donate to LU Serve Now, visit the LU Serve Now homepage at
www.liberty.edu/osd/lu-serve/serve-now and click the “Donate Now” button under the donate section.

Sturek is the campus news editor for the Liberty Champion.