Hurricane Harvey caused an estimated $475 billion in destruction when it made landfall on the Texas coast as a Category 4 hurricane on Aug. 25. The student council and SkillsUSA members both worked on donations to help the victims of the storm.

SkillsUSA donated to an organization that made t-shirts for the cause.

“We are going to wear them and represent in Washington, D.C.,” SkillsUSA district president and senior Jaqueline Chavarria said. “We raised around $400, selling each shirt around $18 to $22. I encouraged people to buy shirts and donate to help our fellow Texans. My goal was to sell over 10 shirts or at least gather over $150. I also participated in school activities to raise money, like hat day and buying Texas cut outs.”

SkillsUSA students also collected money to make clean-up buckets filled with soaps, sponges, clothes line and other cleaning supplies. Student council sponsored not only a hat day, but also collected hurricane relief in special jars in all the classrooms.

“The first amount went to Red Cross,” StuCo senior Paige Perryman said. “The second amount was donated to an adopted school’s student council in Houston. We raised a lot of money for Red Cross and thought it would be a neat idea to pick another school to adopt and renew their lost supplies, like books and school materials. We raised a great amount of money, and I know it will help so many people…fix, replace and rebuild.”

Perryman said that she wanted those around her to participate in the effort.

“I most definitely encouraged people to donate,” Perryman said. “I texted all my friends in the morning, reminding them to bring donations. I asked my parent to also get involved.” Students were offered multiple ways to help Houston. “I purchased water in class,” junior Nat Little said. “I would pay for people’s water so more money could be raised. I personally wanted the school to raise over $150 and help out people after the hurricane.”

Most teachers had donation jars in their classrooms, and some sold waters and gave profit to the organizations.

“I sell waters for 50 cents and had a jar in my class,” Coach Erik Ortiz said. “All the profit from the waters would go in the jar. It was a nice gesture that the students wanted to raise money for Houston because of this awful occurrence. I encouraged my kids to donate. In the end, they would not only help their school raise money, but also feel better about themselves for helping those in need.”