Over the past weeks news outlets have been circling Louisiana to cover the catastrophic flooding. The Red Cross declared the Louisiana flooding to be the worst natural disaster in the United States since Hurricane Sandy four years ago. Around 6 trillion gallons of water fell in just under one week leaving thousands of citizens losing everything they own. Seven thousand people relocated to Red Cross shelters while thousands more are still without power.
With thousands of people relocated to shelters, the Red Cross reached out for donations. Several unlikely contributors took the lead to make a major impact. The University of Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee and several other schools in the SEC set aside their rivalries to help Louisiana State University.
LSU’s campus is located on high ground in Baton Rouge, missing the major points of flooding. Unfortunately students and members of their faculty were still heavily affected. The university is turning their attention to help those members and the citizens of Baton Rouge.
While LSU works to help local victims, other SEC schools pitch in by delivering supplies by the truckload. Nick Saban said in a press release, “When natural disasters occur, like the catastrophic flooding in South Louisiana, football and rivalries take a back seat to providing help to those in need.” The University of Alabama and other schools did just that, they put their rivalries aside and helped southern Louisiana.
Like many other universities, the University of South Carolina utilized their football team to collect donations. The USC football equipment truck could be found around Columbia, South Carolina collecting items to be delivered to LSU. This is not the first time USC and LSU have worked together. Last October, during the historic South Carolina floods, LSU hosted the Gamecocks in a football game that was originally suppose to be played in Columbia. Following the game LSU donated all proceeds for flood relief in South Carolina.
Almost every school in the SEC has contributed to the Louisiana flood relief in some way. Whether it was donating money, supplies or food, each school set aside their differences for one common goal to help the people of Southern Louisiana.
[via: CNN, Nola.Com, University of Arkansas and Gamecocks Online]
