HPU Family Contributes to Western North Carolina Hurricane Relief Efforts

More than 3,000 bottles of water have been donated with more projects underway.

HIGH POINT, N.C., Oct. 3, 2024 – High Point University’s Student Government Association and other units across campus are leading efforts to provide much-needed support to those communities in western North Carolina that continue to be impacted by Hurricane Helene.

The SGA, in partnership with HPU’s Offices of Student Life and Chapel and Religious Life, is collecting monetary donations and items such as bottles of water and non-perishable food to deliver to people affected by last week’s Category 4 hurricane.

In addition, several schools and departments are collecting donations, including the Department of Psychology, the Fred Wilson School of Pharmacy and the Kenneth F. Kahn School of Law.

“People are excited to give back. We announced the initiative yesterday, and people were already showing up with bags and bags of stuff,” said SGA President Benjamin Niehaus, an honors scholar and finance major from Chattanooga, Tennessee. “Professors have come by and donated money. We’ve been on the phone with parents and other people tied to the university who are just excited to give, and I think it’s that excitement that is just really a breath of fresh air, especially during midterms. You would think everyone is focused on their classes and getting through these hard tests and papers and projects, but they’re running out to Walmart and Food Lion and filling up grocery carts full of supplies to donate to their neighbors in western North Carolina.”

HPU students and families are encouraged to support these campus-wide efforts, which run through Friday. All physical and monetary donations will be delivered to communities in western North Carolina in the hope of helping as many hurricane victims as possible.

Below is a list of ways the HPU community can contribute:

• Students can give monetary donations in cash or through the general funds in their HPU Passport Card accounts.
• Students can bring physical and monetary donations to the Philanthropy table inside the Slane Student Center today (from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.) and Friday (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
• Students can leave donations in the lobby of Hayworth Chapel.
• Students are encouraged to bring any items that they may not need due to next week’s Fall Break to the lobby of their respective residence halls, where donation drop-off stations are provided.

Below is a list of items that are needed for those affected by the hurricane:

• Non-perishable food, including canned goods and granola bars
• Bottles of water
• Hand sanitizer
• Baby diapers, wipes and formula
• Toiletries and feminine hygiene products
• Gallon-sized bottles of bleach
• Cleaning products
• Batteries

The HPU community has already started providing resources to hurricane victims in other ways. Here is a glimpse of their efforts so far.

HPU Dining donated more than 3,000 bottles of water to hurricane victims in Morganton and Boone, two cities in western North Carolina.

To help with the effort, a group of HPU Dining staff members loaded a pallet of bottled water into a moving truck on Wednesday at the Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena and Conference Center. The truck then transported the more than 1,500 bottles of water to a local organization that planned to deliver the water to Morganton.

“People are in need and actually in desperation, and it’s nice that we’re able to donate at all,” said Khara Mungo, HPU’s catering director. “I think it’s great and shows that we’re supporting the community.”