6 SAS Faculty Serve in First Wave of Harvey Relief
As Hurricane Harvey made landfall on the Texas gulf coast, the St. Andrew’s community began planning for immediate relief assistance. The Upper School collected items for El Buen Samaritano and Austin Pets Alive, while the Middle School answered Austin mayor Steve Adler’s call to create “welcome kits” for the displaced victims in Austin shelters. At the Lower School, gift card donations totaling $3,000 were collected and sent south with six faculty volunteers−Ashley Brandon, Barton Ballard, Anne Barry, Jason Kruger, Greg Mele and his wife Cheryl Mele, Jason Kruger, and Drew Smith−who spent their Labor Day weekend helping with the Port Aransas clean-up efforts.
Ashley Brandon says, “I was so proud of my SAS family [that] weekend. First, we need to say ‘thank you’ to our community for the incredibly generous turnout in donations.” In addition to the gift cards, “We also had a truckload full of supplies to bring, including cleaning kits, toiletries, and various other items. [The residents] were very grateful for our donations.”
The St. Andrew’s group stayed at Good Shepherd Episcopal church, and drove into various parts of town to assist with sorting and clean-up. They sorted donations at Trinity by the Sea Episcopal church, the designated distribution hub for donations, and headed to the local favorite Candy Shop to help out. Barton Ballard remarks, “I have been going to Port A since I was a kid and it was such a blessing to be able to work in the community and contribute to a place that has been so special to my family. For instance, I met the owner of the Candy Store and was able to text pictures to my nieces who go there every summer. And I was able to pass a message of encouragement to the owner from them.”
The major project was removing drywall and insulation from five homes in the Channel Vista neighborhood, which was one of the hardest hit neighborhoods. Jason Kruger says the devastation had made many in the neighborhood “completely overwhelmed, and a lot were still in shock.” But, he noted, “There was a strong group of folks who were running the show, directing people where to go, and at one point some food trucks and musicians showed up to keep morale up.” Barton adds, “It was inspiring to see the level of commitment in that community. They were organized and ready to distribute supplies and laborers to those that need help.”
Greg Mele remarks, “I'm proud of all of us for making the initial decision to commit to Ashley's call to help. Once we all did that, everything else was just putting in work that we were all capable of doing. I was also proud of the teamwork, "can-do" attitude, humility and good humor we all displayed throughout our time on Port A/Corpus Christi. We were able to do a lot of good work for people in need in a short time.”
The towns of Port Aransas and Rockport have temporarily stopped accepting donations because, “They are overwhelmed and don't have the man-power to process them,” Ashley explains, “What they need is volunteers to do the tedious work of cleaning debris, removing trees, removing drywall from flooded homes, etc. I would love for us to send some more teams down in the weeks ahead if folks are interested. Ideally I would love for others to step up as team leaders, and I can put them in touch with the people who are organizing volunteers.”
Jason says, “I’m glad I did it, I’d do it again, I hope other people will do it too. A lot of folks there are concerned they’ll be forgotten once the news cameras go away. I spoke with a contractor who had just been given a job to completely demolish 300 homes--an entire community. They still need us down there.”
Contact LS/MS Chaplain, Ashley Brandon, if you’d like to get connected with Harvey relief efforts in southern Texas.
