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Feature Story

The Hands & Feet Of Jesus

Amid Hurricane Helene, Anderson University’s people demonstrated what it means to be True to AU.

By: Ed Welch

If there’s an underlying story of Hurricane Helene and Anderson University, it is written in that blue ink from a grateful neighbor. In the days following Hurricane Helene, as the greater Anderson community was picking up the pieces from a truly unprecedented storm, Anderson University received a handwritten letter, in blue ink and lovely cursive script. It was from a woman named Barbara, one of hundreds of people who live in neighborhoods surrounding campus.

barbara handwritten note hurrican helene

It talked of students “cheerfully trudging up our path carrying heavy limbs.” Barbara woke one morning to find more than a dozen young men and women fanned out across her yard. They’d not been asked by anyone to be there. They’d certainly not been told by anyone to be there. They saw a need. They filled it. “We can’t thank you enough for donating your time and your young muscles to lugging all of that debris for us,” the letter continued. “Anderson University must be very proud to graduate students of such outstanding character.”

Volunteers outside of house

The group of students who helped clean limbs out of Barbara's yard.

The Storm

Anderson University, like most of the surrounding area, experienced the fury of Hurricane Helene as it churned inland into the Carolinas on September 26. Though no longer the Category 4 Hurricane that had slammed into Florida’s Big Bend, Helene was still a powerful tropical storm packing high winds and torrential rainfall upon arrival in the South Carolina Upstate. 

There were some close calls, but miraculously no injuries. Yet many in the AU community were shaken by the experience. Instead, we saw it as a chance to serve as the hands and feet of Jesus amid the chaos.

The Aftermath

Damage to the Anderson campus consisted primarily of trees landing on structures and blocking roadways. There was minor structural damage. The campus lost electricity, but the G. Ross Anderson Jr. Student Center kept functioning under backup power. Power was restored to much of the campus by Tuesday following the storm. 

Along with facilities staff and Budd Group teams, several staff and faculty members volunteered to ensure that Anderson’s campus remained open, particularly in critical functions such as Residence Life, Campus Safety and Dining Services. According to Vice President for Christian Life and Senior Minister to the University Dr. Tracy Jessup, worship services took place in the Student Center auditorium the Sunday after the storm. 

Anderson University canceled classes for the following week and postponed its Homecoming to November 9. As the storm abated, Anderson University students, faculty and staff rose to the occasion in big ways. Numerous groups of students cleared debris on campus and helped Anderson University’s neighbors. According to Director of Women’s Ministry and Community Missions Maddie Woodford, many students rolled up their sleeves without hesitation and got to work.

Student-Athletes Rolled Up Their Sleeves on Campus...

Roughly 200 student-athletes organized relief efforts on their own. That they didn’t wait for their coaches or University officials to suggest they get to work says a lot about the culture of Trojan Athletics. Athletics is about so much more than wins and losses. It’s about a family and the purpose and the spirit that’s the focus of the team,” said Vice President for Athletics Dr. Bert Epting. “Our student-athletes saw a community in need, and what better opportunity to love on our neighbors.”

Student-athletes with the baseball team, soccer teams, lacrosse teams and volleyball team saw the need and met the need, helping neighbors who live near the AU campus cut up trees, clean their yards from debris and check on the safety of those whose houses bore the brunt of the storm.

“Anderson University is not AU without the attitude that others come before self. The community was super happy with the help our student-athletes provided. So, we serve with a smile and an attitude that we work not for ourselves, but for the Lord,” Dr. Epting said. 

Volunteers in front of fallen tree

AU Trojans Women’s Soccer team served with United Way Anderson to move trees.

...and Practiced Servant Leadership Beyond the Anderson Community

Assistant Vice President of Christian Life and Director of Campus Ministries James Hanson and a group of students spent three days aiding disaster relief efforts for the Saluda Baptist Association in Henderson County, North Carolina.  “Before we even got an official response organized, the student BCM (Baptist Collegiate Ministries) leaders here on campus were walking out door-to-door to help,” Rev. Hanson said. “In some ways, I felt like I was scrambling and organizing things that were already happening organically. Our student leaders were ready and willing to help.”  

Rev. Hanson specifically remembers a local couple—German immigrants who’d moved to the Anderson area. After BCM students cleaned up their yard, the elderly couple welcomed them into their home and shared bread and drinks. “We weren’t professionals, but we wanted to do what we could to help.”

And help they did. Keep in mind, these were among just a handful of students who chose to stay on campus without electricity, reliable Internet or even the ability to wash their own clothing. So, in the days and weeks following the storm, members of the AU community sent letters and emails to campus leaders expressing their gratitude.

“For a good number of our students, their first response to the disaster was to look outward. When they did, they saw a lot of need,” Rev. Hanson said. “They were not afraid to get dirty, but instead dug in to do very selfless work.”  

That was also the experience of a group of dozens of students and members of AU faculty and staff who left Upstate South Carolina and ventured into the heart of the disaster: Western North Carolina. Among the hardest hit areas, communities such as Chimney Rock, Hendersonville and Asheville faced not just inconveniences, but damage to their very way of life.  

“It was such a blessing to serve with these students in the midst of such devastation. Upon completing the work and before leaving each home, we were privileged to pray with the residents and share the love of Christ with them,” Dr. Jessup said.

Dr. Jessup led a team of approximately 10 students on a disaster relief mission trip to Hendersonville, North Carolina over fall break, partnering with North Carolina Baptists on Mission.  

“This mission trip was an amazing opportunity to see the Body of Christ come together as our team from AU served alongside people who had travelled from as far away as New Jersey as well as people who call Hendersonville home,” he said.

For her part, Woodford put together a team of students, faculty and staff and, partnering with Samaritan’s Purse, helped with the cleanup of devastated neighborhoods in the Asheville area.

Even weeks after the storm, Woodford said her email inbox was full of messages from students wanting to help. “I was so encouraged by the eagerness of our students to serve,” she said. “It was my job to be a bridge-builder and be intentional about plugging them in. I didn’t have to encourage them to serve; they did it out of internal desire. And, of course, that’s Christ in them. They were already in this posture of ‘we want to use our time, talent and treasure to give to those in need.’ It was pure joy to witness.”

volunteers carrying branches

AU’s Christian Ministries sent a team of students to serve in Hendersonville, North Carolina

What Happened Next? What Happens Now?

Apart from the clean-up work, faculty, staff and students led AU’s long-term response was focused on caring for the emotional needs of those impacted and raising money for future service projects.  

Tyrome Philson serves as Associate Vice President for Student Development and Dean, Student Support and Director of the Trojan Care Network, which is a one-stop shop for students to receive the support services they need. After the trauma of a disaster, Philson and his team are among the many who spring into action.  

“It was incredible to see staff show up on campus and support students and take care of them well. And it was important that we were all working well together, providing not only physical, but emotional support,” Philson said.

Post-Helene, the Trojan Care Network “gave students space to process what happened, for us to hear what’s going on in their lives and to ensure they they were being listened to and loved on,” he said. “I was impressed by our students in the sense that despite this stressful experience, they had a good perspective and really wanted to make sure people were safe despite the disruption to their lives,” Philson said. 

The storm also provided an opportunity to strengthen AU’s ability to respond as the hands and feet of Jesus during future disasters. It’s why Campus Ministries and the Office of Development created the Campus Ministries Disaster Relief Fund. Those who wish to support the work can send a gift to the Office of Development, making sure to designate it to the Disaster Relief Fund.

To get started, visit andersonuniversity.edu/giving

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