The worst of Hurricane Helene just missed UGA’s campus and Athens to the east, but many students felt the impact in their hometowns. For Joe and Cam West and their fraternity brothers, this presented a clear opportunity: to help however they could.
On Oct. 6, eight students from the University of Georgia’s Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity traveled to the Augusta area to help with the storm recovery. They trimmed limbs, cleared yards and provided comfort and support.
Joe West, Sig Ep’s chaplain, said several members of the organization are from Augusta and woke up to devastating news the morning after the storm passed through.
“We were kind of just all in shock at some of the damage,” West said. “One guy’s house was hit by 10 trees. And the more news that came in, the worse things sounded.”
Cam West had the initial idea to help, whether through fundraising, gathering supplies or using fraternity connections. The challenge is that those efforts take time, and after a few days, the students decided they wanted to act more quickly.
Eight students committed to gathering supplies, borrowing chainsaws and tools from their parents, and waking up early Sunday morning to travel east and help however they could. In addition to Cam and Joe West, the other students were Kiefer Adams, Nathan Duke, Allen Grinalds, Tyler Watkins, Spencer Wiley and Rock Rogers. Rogers is currently serving as president of UGA’s Student Government Association.
Members of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity work to clear a residence in Augusta after Hurricane Helene. (Submitted photo)
For Joe West, seeing the devastation in person was a completely different experience than watching news reports.
“About 30 minutes outside of Appling, where we first went, you started seeing the pine trees bent over, and the closer we got to Augusta, the more trees and power lines were down,” Joe West said. “The amount of linemen and power trucks we saw as we rode into Augusta was incredible.”
Cam West described devastating scenes: roofs torn off, houses split in half, and cars crushed. They were saddened to hear stories of elderly residents having to be taken to the hospital.
He also said that philanthropy and giving back are already an important part of Sig Ep’s culture. When he started hearing about the effects of the storm on Augusta, he thought about his fraternity brothers and that community.
“I care about these guys, and it wouldn’t make sense for us to be able to help and not go down there and do something,” Cam West said. “At that point, I was pretty fired up about it, and it didn’t take much effort to get the other guys on board.”
The students hope to do more to help people recovering from Helene in the future. They appreciate hearing the efforts in which UGA departments and students are engaging to help those in need and look forward to participating in wider efforts.
“Going down there, we weren’t the most skilled people,” said Cam West. “We didn’t have the biggest trucks or the cranes to lift the trees off the houses, but we got told that people just seeing us there was a mental relief and an uplifting thing for people to see guys our age wanting to give back. Just the fact that you’re doing something and trying is worth the while.”