UofSC organizes Hurricane Matthew relief effort

With help from the Midlands community, the University of South Carolina will collect items Thursday and Friday, sending a truck of donated itemsMonday to Marion County, where post-hurricane flooding of the Little Pee Dee and Lumber rivers has caused widespread damage and displaced residents in the communities of Nichols and Mullins.

On Thursday, Oct. 20 and Friday, Oct. 21, the university will collect bottled water, cleaning supplies, non-perishable food items and diapers at two locations:

9 a.m. – 6 p.m. at the university’s Alumni Center, located at 900 Senate St.

Noon – 6 p.m. at Bi-Lo, located at 4464 Devine St., where a Gamecock Football equipment truck will be stationed.

Volunteers with UofSC Relief, a student-led service initiative, will help load the truck, which is scheduled to depart the Alumni Center at 11 a.m. Monday. The university’s Hurricane Matthew relief effort is a collaboration of the university’s My Carolina Alumni Association, Athletics Department and UofSC Relief along with the South Carolina Police Chiefs’ Association and Shealy Truck Center.

Jack Claypoole, executive director of My Carolina, says this university relief effort and those it coordinated in response to last year’s historic flooding demonstrate the passion of its alumni and students to give back to the state.

“As Gamecocks we are driven by a sense of responsibility, instilled in us as students, that we live as alumni. There are so many of our fellow alumni and friends impacted by this storm that it is only natural for us to use our greatest strength – our alumni – to rally in support of South Carolina,” says Claypoole.

The Thursday and Friday collection will be the first of several university efforts to collect much-need items to help communities in their recovery from Hurricane Matthew. Midlands residents are encouraged to look for additional information to be released about future collections in the coming weeks.

For more information, contact My Carolina at 803-777-4111.