It was a strange experience to see pictures and video of streets I drive on everyday deep under water, to see my friends evacuating their apartments to seek shelter for somewhere safe and to being told not to leave home for any reason.

The Central Texas flooding that took place last weekend has shown more damage than any other Texas flood in recent years. With a death toll of six people and two reported missing, the need for volunteers continues to grow to new levels. Organizations such as the Blanco River Regional Recovery Team are working to help victims with damaged homes and apartments salvage and rebuild what was lost in the disaster

The tornado and heavy rains have caused damage across central Texas. For those in San Marcos and Wimberley, this is the second mass flooding this year. There is now a dire need for volunteers in the area to assist victims of the flood.

On Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015, I worked with a group of girls in my sorority for a service project and I was exposed to the need of Central Texas flood victims. We had the opportunity to assist a single mother of three to help move out of her apartment in San Marcos. This single mom showed incredible strength and dignity through the disaster, but as a result of the Oct. 30 flooding, she had been asked to leave her apartment with nowhere else to go. The apartment put in little effort to find units for their residents, and now these flood victims are being told to pack up and leave. The two kids of hers that I did have the blessing of meeting were so full of joy and hope. This family embodies a sense of strength through a breakdown.

From my personal experience in volunteering, I was able to gain so much perspective surrounding the floods. I learned stories from a variety of individuals that have had to start over. Aside from learning the story of a single mother of three struggling through the disastrous flood, I was able to evaluate my own life. I began to question all I had as a person and how grateful I was to have maintain shelter during the flood.

If you are interested in volunteering to assist the efforts of restoring San Marcos and Wimberley, you can visit these links.

Resource Centers available

Ways to Volunteer

One thing that I have continuously learned to admire about San Marcos within my two years of living here is the sense of togetherness and kindness that I feel every day. This community pulled through in volunteering to assist the efforts of recovering the city, it's time to give back again.