NHS Members to Aid in Hurricane Florence Disaster Relief

Ten members of The Aquinas Institute’s National Honor Society (NHS) will travel to Pender County, North Carolina over February Break (February 18-24) to aid in Hurricane Florence disaster relief.

The hurricane, which made landfall in September 2018, caused severe flooding along the North Carolina coast and damaged over 100,000 homes. Now, five months later, the state is in the rebuilding phase and is relying on volunteers to help get people back in their homes.

Aquinas senior Jose Binet, who will be taking part in the Hurricane Florence disaster relief mission says that being right where the devastation happened and seeing it firsthand will help put the scope of what it means to rebuild after a hurricane in perspective. While he admits that he’s not quite sure what to expect, Binet says that his goal is “to just show up and help out where needed.”

Mike Moser, of the disaster relief group Baptists on Mission, is the site coordinator in charge of organizing the work that Aquinas students will be doing while in North Carolina, which may include putting insulation in walls, putting up sheetrock, underpinning and the like. “I think a lot of people, especially young students like these, come and think they don’t have the skills for this type of work,” said Moser. “But when they leave, they feel like they made an impact and that’s what matters most.’”

The Aquinas students and chaperones going on the mission trip will stay at Riley’s Baptist Church in Rocky Point, a designated Disaster Relief Operation Center in which the Baptists on Mission and Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity work in partnership to provide volunteer groups with free meals and housing for the duration of their stay.

The group will also bring with them a check for $732, which Aquinas students and faculty raised as part of a mission collection organized by Aquinas freshman, Lucas Sherron. The proceeds will benefit victims of the hurricane.

NHS moderator and mission trip coordinator Sue Smith says that in arranging the annual mission trips she looks for areas in the greatest need. “North Carolina seemed like an obvious choice as they’re still recovering from Hurricane Florence,” said Smith. “I know our group is excited to pitch in, get their hands dirty and at the end of the day know that their hard work is helping families return to their homes.”

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