Southern Adventist University students will be holding an event on Sunday, Sept. 17 from 4-7 p.m. to collect money and cleanup supplies for victims of Hurricane Irma, according to a news release.
The event will be held - rain or shine - at Cambridge Square in Ooltewah, Tenn. It will feature a homemade bake sale with contributions from other SAU students and faculty, live music, T-shirts and an opportunity to donate blood through Blood Assurance.
Attendees are also encouraged to bring cleanup supplies that the Samaritan Center will distribute in the affected areas.
Senior nursing students Alexandria Martin and Jennifer Vigil organized the event after initially planning to sell items to friends to raise funds.
Suggested supplies to donate
-Rubber boots -Brooms -Cordless drills -Dust masks and respirators (rated N95) -Heavy-duty rubber or work gloves -Heavy-duty garbage bags -Insect repellent -Mold retardant concentrate -Mops -Rakes -Shovels -Sunscreen -Utility knives -Water hoses and pumps -Wet or dry vacuums -Wheelbarrows
"After Hurricane Harvey, I saw a photo of elderly people in a nursing home sitting in their wheelchairs with water up to their waists," Martin said in the release. "The picture startled me, and I told my housemate, Jennifer, that we had to do something!"
All sales will be cash only, and 100 percent of all proceeds and supplies will be "channeled through the Samaritan Center to Florida," according to Janell Hullquist, the editorial manager for Southern's marketing and university relations.
At the end of the event, the students will also present a large check to the Samaritan Center.
Event partners include Blood Assurance, Cambridge Square, Collegedale Church of Seventh-day Adventists, the Samaritan Center, Southern's Student Association, several student clubs and multiple departments on the Southern Adventist University campus.