Immediately following the time when the worst recorded tornado in Tuscaloosa history left much of the city in shambles, members of UA’s greek community began mobilizing relief efforts to help those in need.
The effort, known as UA Greek Relief, was formed to allow UA students who wanted to help those most affected by the storm join efforts with one another. But Patrick Morris, one of UA Greek Relief’s directors, said it quickly became more than just a way for students to help.
“The first day we started it was all greeks,” Morris said. “But then two to three days later, it became non-greeks, adults, kids, community members, even people from across the country that joined the UA greeks in assisting those in need. I’d say we had between 300 and 400 people total working over the course of the past week or so.”
Morris said the organization’s first goal was to find a way to provide hot meals to as many people as possible.
“Over the eight days that we’ve done this, we produced over 52,000 hot meals,” Morris said. “We took the meals all over the city. We went to major shelters and distribution centers, and we also just loaded meals up into cars that we handed out to workers, members of the military and the victims of the tornado.”
On the first Monday following Wednesday’s tornado, Morris said the organization produced more than 10,000 hot meals, nearly one-third of total relief hot meals produced that day, for those in need.
“We saw the highest number of volunteers right after the storm hit,” Morris said. “A lot of people were off work and wanted to help in any way that they could. Now, more and more people are having to leave town, so our numbers have been down a bit.”
Former SGA President James Fowler said he was surprised at how much food and supplies the organization was able to produce and collect, but said he was not surprised to see the Tuscaloosa and UA communities come together.
“I could look out onto any given street corner and see students, their parents and community members alike united in helping the city recover,” Fowler said. “They all know it takes a great sense of community to get through something like this, and that’s exactly what we have.”
On May 6, the organization’s main focus shifted from producing hot meals to fundraising, Morris said.
“We really didn’t realize how big this would get,” Morris said. “I’ve had people calling me from as far away as California asking how they can help.”
In response to the overwhelming support for the city, Morris said UA Greek Relief launched a website where people can donate money to support the cause of rebuilding Tuscaloosa.
Morris said the organization does not know where the money will go yet, but plans to select committee members to represent the city in the coming days.
“We do know that, once we select a committee, they’ll get together and decide where the money is most needed,” Morris said. “There will also be a link on our website where people who need financial assistance can apply for portions of the money, although that has yet to go up yet.”
Fowler said he wanted to assure all those who have donated money that their money will stay in Tuscaloosa to help with the recovery and rebuilding process.
“Every aspect of our community will be well represented on the committee once it is selected,” Fowler said. “What it all boils down to is this; we’ll work side-by-side with city officials to find where the money we’ve raised is most needed. This is not a one-week thing, it’s a long process. This money will help us greatly in the long run.”
Morris said the organization has raised almost $100,000 since the tornado struck the city. He said those interested in visiting the organization’s website or in donating money to Tuscaloosa should visit http://www.uagreekrelief.com/.
