My friend and fellow MSW Student Savannah Pierce was at a doctor’s appointment when her nurse started talking about her family in Bay County lost everything during Hurricane Michael and were feeling the cold now that the temperature was dropping in the area. 

She texted me about it and we realized we had not even considered how the winter weather would affect those impacted by the storm that hit the Gulf Coast in October 2018. We decided to do something about it. 

We decided to start a winter clothing drive. I created a flyer for a clothing drive and we sent it to businesses all over Tallahassee asking if we could drop off a donation box for jacket collection. Capital City Barbell, Pure Barre, Journeys in Yoga and TLG Real Estate Services all agreed to have a box placed in their lobby, as well as to promote the drive on their social media. Almost all of the donations came from members of the community that we had never met. 

It was really overwhelming to see how generous people were. We collected more than 300 jackets in two weeks. We also had boxes of blankets and other warm weather gear that still had tags on them that people went out and bought just for the clothing drive. I even had people who had seen the flyer shared on Facebook reach out to me asking if we were doing the collection in other cities, like Tampa and Orlando. 

A friend and fellow MSW student Luke Brocco graciously lent his truck for the day to transport the donations to Panama City.  We dropped off the donations at the FSU Panama City Campus where several classrooms were dedicated to holding donated items that would be distributed to the Bay County community. Panama City students got the first choice, but community members were also given direct access to the donations. Many people were surprised that we were doing this on own and not as a part of a class project or through a school organization.
    
It’s hard to put into words what we experienced coming into this community after the storm. I don’t think either of us knew what to expect. I was taking in my surroundings as we drove into Bay County and was impressed with how strong the Bay County community is. Many businesses were rebuilding or trying to stay open and keep running. To me, this emphasizes the resilient of this community. Bay County is still regrouping and has already overcome many obstacles. 

These areas will take years to recover and a recent article in the Tampa Bay Times noted that people aren’t donating to the Hurricane Michael recovery as they did after Hurricanes Florence, Harvey and Irma. I strongly encourage everyone to continue to donate their time, energy or goods to these communities. Our clothing drive can’t compensate for the loss and pain experienced by these people, but we hope that they show our support from the surrounding, greater Gulf Coast communities.

To learn more about ways to give, visit https://csw.fsu.edu/article/hurricane-michael-how-help to learn more about the Seminole Emergency Relief Fund and other aid organizations and opportunities. 

 Emily Payton is a native of Olympia, Washington and relocated to Central Florida in high school. She has always wanted to help people, particularly veterans and military families. Emily is a student in the MSW Clinical Program. She is active within the College as an Interprofessional Fellow and as a development intern with the FSU College of Social Work Development Director Colette Podgrorski working on philanthropic projects related to the College. She is also an intern for the FSU Multidisciplinary Evaluation and Consulting Center, where she provides mental health counseling to school-aged children in the Tallahassee area. She would like to pursue licensure after graduation and would like to continue counseling children and adults.

Savannah Pierce is also a student in the MSW Clinical Program and is also an Interprofessional Fellow with the FSU College of Social Work. She is currently finishing her final field placement in Jacksonville, Florida with Jewish Family and Community Services. She intends to pursue her licensure after graduation and to pursue a career providing counseling in a clinical setting. She is also working toward obtaining a certificate in child welfare and training on post-traumatic stress.