Volunteers Step Forward to Aid Hurricane Relief
It has been a difficult few weeks for many members of our Volunteer community, our neighbors across East Tennessee, and people throughout the Southeast who have been impacted by the devastation of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. The historic loss and destruction of the storms and subsequent flooding have been difficult to grasp.
I am grateful to Volunteers across the university who have been part of the relief efforts by supporting UT students, faculty, and staff who have been directly impacted and providing assistance and resources to communities in need.
Immediately after the storm, our support team reached out to students and employees who reside in the impacted counties to offer help and resources as well as campus locations for students, faculty, and staff in need of showers.
As our neighbors rebuild their lives and their communities, there are more opportunities to help.
How to help
Tennessee Athletics is partnering with Pilot to collect donations for those affected by Hurricane Helene. Donations will be accepted Oct. 15-17 at the Pilot PSS Warehouse and will be sent to the Northeast Tennessee Disaster Relief Center. Learn more about what and how to donate, visit the UT Athletics website.
Volunteers are needed to receive and organize the donations. UT students, faculty and staff can sign up for shifts on the Jones Center for Leadership and Service website.
Athletics is also raising funds for those impacted by selling “Mountain Strong” merchandise, all proceeds of which will go to relief efforts.
Across the university, Volunteers are showing up for those in need. Some of the other relief efforts include:
- UT Extension is providing information and recovery resources in impacted counties. Extension agents in all 95 counties can help with everything from handling livestock to recovering important documents, accessing mental health care for families, and repairing property loss.
- The College of Veterinary Medicine is deploying its mobile clinic to provide care to animals in Carter County, one of the hardest-hit communities in the flooding. The college is also coordinating animal feed collection and delivering to impacted counties at the request of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.
- UT also provided NOAA with network support to assist in their disaster area data collection efforts, and facilities services personnel are providing assistance.
As we work alongside others in the state and region to help meet the most immediate needs of those impacted, we know the recovery from this storm will take years and we will continue to look for ways to support them.
Stepping forward in leadership and service is at the core of who we are as Volunteers, and it is never more important than when our neighbors are in need. Thank you to everyone who has helped bring the Volunteer spirit to life in recent weeks.
Donde Plowman
Chancellor