Tornado Relief in Pratt City

The following blog was written by senior guard Jazmine Powers of Decatur, AL on her experience volunteering with tornado relief in Pratt City, Alabama.

We are all aware of the devastating storms that took place here in Alabama this year. Damage you wouldn’t believe took place all over Birmingham, Alabama and in particular  Pratt City. 

One morning I was approached by one of my good friends who plays on the football team named Devyn Keith. He informed me that he and some other football players were going to go into Pratt City and were going to help those in need. He asked if I wanted to go and at first I had already had plans to go back to my hometown in Decatur, Alabama and check on my family. As I was packing my clothes up something just hit me to go ahead and meet up with Devyn and the other players and go help. It was kind of unreal, to be honest, because I was literally packing up clothes to go home and all of a sudden I was thinking "man I really should go to Pratt City." So I ended up going with the guys, not knowing what to expect but knowing my heart was set on helping others. 

We got there and were immediately put to work at Scott Elementary school. This school was set up as a refuge place for victims. Classrooms were organized for different things and had people working to help victims with whatever they needed. They also had people in the kitchen serving food to victims. It was kind of chaotic and definitely something I had never seen before. Most of the girls who were there volunteering were in different classrooms with clothes sorting things out, but I wanted to stay busy. I unloaded trucks that constantly came in with water, food, clothes, etc.. with the guys. We did this for about a hour and a half until Devyn, Chase, Jeremy Towns, and another football player named Jacobi gathered in a truck to go out into neighborhoods. I definitely hopped in the truck along with them because I wanted to actively get out there and help people! This was an experience I will NEVER FORGET in my life. We loaded a pickup truck with mostly toiletries and food and set out into neighborhoods. I saw houses that looked completely fine then houses right next to them that were completely destroyed. I saw so many trees that had fallen on houses and completely destroyed them. I could go on and on about things I saw but there was one incident that really touched my heart. 

I carried a 24 package of water up to a house and knocked on the door. A middle aged woman who looked like she was in her 40s maybe,  came to the door. I said “Hi how are you,  do you need anything? I have water, toiletries, food, anything.” She stood there a moment and looked at me and then out to the truck with the guys. She said “Yes, I’ll take some water, can you bring it in.” I said of course and took the water into her house. I noticed she was there alone and had no power. Her house was damaged but not too badly. When I got inside she motioned me to put the water on her kitchen counter. Once I did that she just hugged me and said, "Thank you so much." She repeated those words to me. She said “Its good to know that there are people out there like you that really care and are out here helping us.” “God is good and I just want to thank you.” I noticed tears coming down her face. I replied “Your welcome, I’m just glad I can help.” My heart literally got weak that very moment. This touched my soul because here this lady is by herself and just experienced something so devastating and is crying, hugging me and thanking me and God. That moment taught me so much. 

I really was glad I chose to go out to Pratt City instead of home. I became more thankful than ever before, because that tornado could have easily hit the Samford University campus where I was at the time. I was thankful that I was able to be out in that lady’s neighborhood and inside her house giving her water. I felt like through God telling me to go ahead and go to Pratt City and me being with the people I was with and in that neighborhood inside her house, I felt like it gave her so much hope. Everything happens for a reason and according to God’s plan! That experience deepened my faith and I knew from that moment that God had that set up. I truly know people really appreciated that we were out there helping them and I’m so thankful and grateful that I was able to experience that.