ARKADELPHIA -- Henderson State University's Reddie to Serve Day will be held a week from today and will be dedicated to those recently affected by Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma.
At least 60 students from the Houston area are enrolled at Henderson, according to Lewis Shepherd, executive director of Henderson's Center for Economic Development and Community Engagement. Volunteers for Reddie to Serve Day on Oct. 7 will be able to hear from students whose communities and families were hit by the storms.
Tropical Storm Harvey formed east of the Lesser Antilles islands in mid-August, reformed into a tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico and regenerated into a Category 4 hurricane when it made landfall in Texas on Aug. 25 with sustained winds of up to 130 mph. It was the first major hurricane landfall in the United States since Hurricane Wilma in October 2005 and became the longest named storm after landfall on record at almost five days. Historic flooding devastated the Houston area as an estimated 1 trillion gallons of water drenched Harris County in just four days.
Hurricane Irma followed shortly after as a tropical storm on Aug. 30, intensified into a Category 5 hurricane and tore through islands in the Caribbean before making landfall in Florida on Sept. 10. Irma was one of only five hurricanes to sustain maximum wind speeds of 185 mph or greater and the speeds were maintained for 37 hours, the longest on record.
It was the first time on record two Category 4 or stronger hurricanes made landfall in the continental U.S. during the same hurricane season. The cost of the damage inflicted by the two hurricanes is estimated to be as much as $300 billion.
A coin drive will be held at Reddie to Service to raise funds for victims in both Houston and Florida. The proceeds will be donated to an organization helping with relief efforts.
The community-based service event is held once during each spring and fall semester. The effort focuses on people in the area who are in need of assistance, such as the disabled, senior citizens, single parent homes and nonprofit organizations.
Volunteers perform yard work, cleaning and general labor projects, as well as litter pickup and small maintenance projects. The effort involves mostly students, but faculty, staff and friends also participate.
"The Reddie to Serve project is just one of the ways that faculty, staff and students from the Henderson community can give back to the Arkadelphia community," Shepherd said. "This event will be dedicated to those who have lost not only possessions, but also their lives in the recent storms."
Around 45 projects have been scheduled for the event, including some as part of Arkadelphia's Paint the Town initiative. Student volunteers will paint fire hydrants on and around the Henderson campus to match Henderson's traditional red and gray colors. They will also repaint other hydrants in the community.
"Institutions of higher learning are built upon a tripod foundation of instruction, research and public service," Shepherd said. "At Henderson, we are focusing on public service through service to our local community in the form of volunteerism."
More than 5,766 participants have completed 664 projects in the community since Reddie to Serve Day began in September 2010.
Local on 09/30/2017