A collaboration of student organizations wrapped up the Tigers for the Tide relief effort one month after a devastating tornado touched down in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The University planned to ship more than 50 boxes of donated items Wednesday to the University of Alabama and surrounding communities. The Athletic Department supplied a truck to transport donations.
The collection period ended May 14, but students have been sorting and boxing donated items for the past several weeks in preparation for shipping them to Alabama.
Josh Dean, Volunteer LSU adviser, said collecting items was easy — motivating students to box and sort items during finals week was the true challenge.
Most student volunteers — like De Andre’ Beadle, political science and sociology sophomore — described sorting and boxing as “a long, hard and difficult task to complete.”
Volunteers picked through each donated item, sorting clothing by gender and size. After sorting, volunteers checked each item’s condition and usefulness.
“Sorting was definitely an experience,” said Kathleen Bordelon, Student Government vice president. “It was like doing other people’s laundry.”
From deodorant to diapers, students didn’t hesitate to contribute a variety of clothing, toiletries and other items to the University of Alabama.
Student volunteers found generous donations such as a Lacoste polo, a $145 new dress and new Dr. Martens boots. Volunteers also sorted through disgusting items, like dirty underwear and used body soap.
“It was fun finding out what people gave,” said Alli Robison, human resource education junior. “I learned a lot about people by digging through their stuff.”
Boxing and sorting were tedious and stressful, but helping other people kept volunteers motivated.
Beadle said it was shocking to know such devastation could happen so close to Louisiana. He was driven to volunteer with Tigers for the Tide after being in a similar situation following Hurricane Katrina.
“Tigers for the Tide was an overwhelming success,” said Erin Percevault, chair for environmental and disaster response for Volunteer LSU. “We asked for the LSU community to donate what they could for the drive, and the response was tremendous.”
Student Government, Volunteer LSU, Greek Life and the Residence Hall Association set up donation sites around campus to collect items soon after the tornado struck.
“Donations kept coming — we could not often pick up donation boxes quickly enough,” Percevault said. “Pick-ups continued even after I left Baton Rouge for the summer.”
Student Government President Cody Wells admired the teamwork of multiple student organizations who came together to accomplish a common goal.
“The result of our coordinated effort was a testament to our true potential,” he said.
Many organizations unaffiliated with Campus Life, such as the LSU Vet School and softball team, also reached out.
“So many people from different areas of campus wanted to help,” Dean said. “Each organization was able to reach out to different audiences to collect as much as possible.”
The University has been in constant contact with the University of Alabama for the past month and plans to stay close as they rebuild their community.
“We wanted to make sure we saw their needs, not what we thought they needed,” Dean said. “As the community changes and rebuilds, we will adapt to their needs and respond in any way we can.”
The University plans to contact the University of Alabama in mid-June to follow up on its progress and needs. Though there will not be another relief drive, the University may send students to help rebuild homes in Tuscaloosa.
“It is humbling to watch the LSU Tigers give so much to our biggest fall-time enemy,” Wells said.
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Contact T.N. “King” at [email protected].