Compassion and camaraderie: Horry students lend a helping hand to Georgetown County families devastated by flood

Georgetown County suffered some of the most damage from the recent historic flooding, and students at St. James High School in Murrells Inlet are trying to do what they can to help.

About 30 students and a handful of teachers delivered a U-Haul’s worth of bedding, food, toiletries and clothing to Georgetown County families in need Monday. Students dropped off supplies at Carvers Bay High, Rosemary Middle and Andrews Elementary schools for anyone devastated by the flood.

“Everything has a starting point, and maybe if these families don’t know where to start we can be their starting point,” said St. James senior Destinee Heath.

“Being so close to [Carvers Bay], it could have easily been us in this situation,” she added. “If we help them, they’ll help us.”

St. James faculty wanted to help some of the Murrells Inlet-area teachers affected by the flood, but those teachers wanted to transfer that generosity to families who needed it more, said Beth Cox, event organizer and biology teacher.

“We gave the idea to our kids and they just flew with it,” Cox said.

For a week and a half, students collected nonperishable food items, gently used and new clothing, paper products, toiletries, cleaning supplies and other household items to donate, Cox said. Students also collected money to buy supplies not usually donated, such as baby food and sports drinks.

After word got out about donations, other Horry County schools and organizations dropped off supplies or money to the Murrells Inlet school, Cox said. Then, people from all over the nation sent money to St. James High.

“It went from just St. James High to all of Horry County to the rest of the nation,” Cox said. “Everyone just wanted to help these three schools and it makes me so happy.”

The donations filled up a large U-Haul – donated by a local company – and a school bus. Each school was given about 200 boxes of supplies to hand out to students, teachers and area families affected by the historic flood.

Students piled into a bus and made their way first to Carvers Bay High School, where about 40 students greeted the Sharks. Students formed two lines to efficiently move supplies out of the truck and into the school, where “Bears love Sharks” signs were plastered on the walls.

Richard Neal, principal of Carvers Bay High, said the event just shows how concerned students are for each other, no matter the district or distance.

“When you see this kind of camaraderie and integrity between students, it’s overwhelming,” Neal said. “It just shows how much of a community we all are.”

After a quick group photo with the Carvers Bay group, St. James students hopped back on the bus to deliver goodies to Andrews Elementary School. Andrews was one of the hardest-hit flooded areas in the state, prompting responses from volunteer and government groups all of last week.

Brooke Berry, teacher at Andrews Elementary, knows the devastation first hand. She lives in the area and said Saturday was the first time one of her students returned to his home after the flooding.

“It’s surreal,” Berry said. “It’s stuff that you see on TV but it doesn’t happen here.”

But it did happen here, and Berry is thankful Horry County students are striving to help as many families as possible.

“Sometimes good things come out of the bad,” she said.

The buses eventually made their way to Rosemary Elementary to donate the last of the supplies. Watching students perform acts of kindness – without any prompts or requirements – gives St. James High faculty and staff hope for the future.

“It’s promising,” said Sarah Crist, English teacher. “It lets us know we’re all going to be OK.”

This story was originally published October 26, 2015 at 4:49 PM with the headline "Compassion and camaraderie: Horry students lend a helping hand to Georgetown County families devastated by flood."