Loyola student organizations provide relief to flood victims

Gage Counts

While some students were moving into the dorms, others were cleaning debris out of the homes of flood victims in south Louisiana.

As a result of the flood starting in mid-August, Louisianians have united together to support those affected by the flooding.

Loyola’s men’s basketball team spent part of their day Aug. 20 in Denham Springs rebuilding areas affected by the flooding, according to the Loyola Wolf Pack Athletics Facebook page.

Head coach, Stacy Holloway, described the devastation the team saw as heartbreaking. “Our guys were definitely moved by the amount of destruction and went to work helping clean up,” he said on the page. WWL reported that 90 percent of homes in Denham Springs took on water during the flooding.

Loyola’s chapter of Chi Alpha, a Christian service organization, traveled to Baton Rouge to assist in the clean-up of the Faith A/G Worship Center on Aug. 20.

“It was really a pleasure to be able to serve the church. Having grown up in church, it’s really unbelievable to see the devastation of losing everything, and it’s unimaginable to know that the place you may have gone to worship is completely gone,” said Joshua Byrd, A’16 and member of Chi Alpha. Byrd and 10 others from Chi Alpha assisted in the clean-up.

Loyola’s Student Government Association is currently planning relief efforts with the Office of Mission and Ministry, according to Elisa Diaz, SGA president. A potential option is for Loyola to become a Red Cross drop off location, Diaz said.

The Office of Mission and Ministry is also helping out victims of the flooding by collecting donations outside the Ignatius Chapel. Those donations will be sent to the Archdiocese of New Orleans, which will distribute the donations to bishops in affected areas, according to a letter circulated by Archbishop Gregory Raymond.