Hurricane Katrina was a tragedy that struck close to home for many students — and the rallying call for Frogs from every corner of campus.

Students worked under the University Ministries umbrella, as well as initiated efforts on their own. Two key organizers in the now-ongoing hurricane relief efforts are Kappa Sigma President Trevor Heaney ‘07 and Sigma Alpha Epsilon President John Athon ‘06. Both emphasized that efforts are not just coming from Greeks but campus-wide.

“I don’t know of anyone who’s not helping out,” Heaney said, saying that efforts have included canned food, clothing and cash drives, as well as volunteer labor. The Kappa Sigs, who volunteer with Habitat for Humanity locally each semester, are also hoping to take a trip to New Orleans with the home building ministry.

In addition to regularly passing the coffee can to raise funds at chapter meetings, TCU SAEs took on the SMU chapter in a Iron Skillet skeet shootout. TCU SAEs took home the trophy, while the groups raised close to $15,000 for the Red Cross, Athon said. SAEs also reached out to evacuees who moved in close to campus, inviting them to tailgate parties and collecting toys and games for the kids, “Just to help make their stay here in Fort Worth a better one,” he said.

Watching family and friends deal with the hurricane aftermath has changed the outlook for many student volunteers.

“It kind of burst the whole idea of a TCU bubble. There is a bigger community outside of just TCU,” Athon said. “Some of the guys in our chapter who I never thought would get involved in something like this really became excited about it and really became eager to help.”

Heaney agreed. “It’s been pretty nice to see how everyone can rally behind one set cause, pull together; all the chapters working together to make sure that what needs to get done gets done.”

Athon worried that people might think the effort was just a Greek thing. “This isn’t a Greek thing at all. This is a TCU-people-helping-other-people thing.”

By the numbers:

$13,500 donated to hurricane relief efforts, organized by University Ministries

$10,000 allocated by the House of Student Representatives to help affected students pay rent, phone charges and other living expenses

$5,500 raised by TCU students through the Guatemalan Hope Project to help victims of Hurricane Stan

2,000 pounds of food donated to agencies working with evacuees

42 Katrina evacuees enrolled at TCU, including 15 freshmen

5 universities or colleges from which evacuees enrolled at TCU transferred: Dillard, Tulane, Xavier and Loyola universities and William Carey College

1 super-size gift of backpacks, notebook paper, crayons, folders and pens donated by University Advancement employees for the Arlington school district to help evacuees attending schools in the district.