When Jeremy Shafer decided to move back to Florida from Michigan to restart his education and re-involve with InterVarsity, he didn’t know he would have to deal with Frances and Jeanne.
Shortly after re-connecting with Florida Tech chapter president Kirk Harris, hurricane Frances came roaring in from the Atlantic. Kirk and Jeremy decided to look for a public shelter to volunteer their services. They ended up at a Melbourne elementary school.
There they found two Red Cross workers preparing for a crowd of 350 people and were immediately put to work registering the incoming refugees. “[Other volunteers] would bring them in by the busload. We would help them fill out the paperwork that was necessary for them to get into the shelter, assign rooms, help them to move their bags and things, and get them settled in,” Jeremy said.
Later Jeremy was asked to help with medical assessment, to determine which residents needed to be moved to a location where their medical needs could be handled. He and Kirk also helped deliver meals. But they felt that their most important job was talking with people.
“It’s a very stressful situation and sometimes people just need to have someone to talk to, to encourage them and just to hear what they have to say,” Jeremy said.
“People were discouraged,” Kirk added. “We had opportunities to speak with them one-on-one and encourage them.” He remembers one distraught man in particular. “He was afraid he would be homeless after the hurricane.”
People from various shelters, unable to return to their homes right after hurricane Frances, were consolidated at the First Baptist Church. Kirk and Jeremy pitched in there as well.
“In spending long periods of time with people who moved from shelter to shelter with us, we were able to share who Jesus is,” Jeremy said.
Later, when Jeanne followed in Frances’ path, an Americorps volunteer that they had met at the Baptist Church remembered them.
“She called and asked us if we had anything going on, and if we’d be interested in helping her out again,” Jeremy said. “So we went and were responsible for registering and trouble-shooting things that would come up. Hurricane Jeanne passed through quickly, and we were only there for a day and a half.”
Leadership training and leadership skills are vital for the health of InterVarsity chapters but have application beyond the university. Reflecting later, Kirk said, “I don’t know if I would’ve made the same choice, were I not involved with InterVarsity. I’m glad I did it.”
Photos courtesy of Jody Bagdonas, Florida Institute of Technology.
