In wake of the recent tragic flooding in Pensacola, two UCF students have taken the initiative to start collecting relief items for the victims.
Tyler Wright and Matt Paule, UCF students and high school friends from Pensacola, are looking to gather clothes and toiletry items over the next couple of days to bring to the flooding victims in their hometown.
The flooding in Pensacola has been unprecedented, with the heaviest single day of rainfall since the late 1800s. In some areas, there was over two feet of rainfall within a 24-hour period.
“Well I’ve lived in the Pensacola area all my life. I’ve just been keeping them in my thoughts and prayers but I got to a point the other day when I asked myself what can I actually do to help? I know I’m eight hours away but there’s gotta be something I can do,” said Wright. “So that’s where I came up with this idea.”
The two students stress that the UCF community extends far beyond just Orlando.
“Whether it’s the 850 or 407, we are all Floridians,” Matt Paule wrote on his Facebook page.
The Salvation Army in Pensacola told Wright that they are in desperate need of toiletry items and clothes to help the now hundreds of homeless in the Panhandle.
“I personally know families who have lost everything including their homes, this storm was as bad as any hurricane that has come through that area, if not worse. The damage is real, the loss is real and there’s nothing that I would love to see more than to see the UCF and Orlando community come together to help these in Pensacola,” said Wright.
Clothing and toiletries can be dropped off in the labeled bins at the Sigma Chi fraternity house(4418 Greek Ct. Orlando, Fl 32816) or the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority house(4176 Greek Park Drive Orlando, Fl 32816) both on UCF campus.
They will be actively collecting at these locations until May 6.
For more information view the “Knights for Pensacola” Facebook group.
