Record rainfall in Tennessee caused the Cumberland River to overflow its banks and breach the 100-year flood plain, greatly affecting the everyday lives of millions of citizens of Middle Tennessee.
At its highest, the Cumberland inundated Nashville, Tenn., flooding historic landmarks such as The Grand Ole Opry, The Country Music Hall of Fame, the Schermerhorn Auditorium and countless others. Flooding has been blamed for at least 27 deaths and millions of dollars of property damage.
This year, 150 students from middle Tennessee will call Elon their home away from home, and many of their families have been affected by this flooding.
If you’d like to make a donation that will go directly to assist members of the Elon family affected by the Tennessee floods, you may do so through the Chaplain’s Discretionary Fund. Please make checks payable to Elon University, with “Chaplain’s Fund/flood relief” in the memo line.
Send donations to the Truitt Center for Religious & Spiritual Life, 2960 Campus Box. General donations to the Chaplain’s fund are receipted by the university and are tax deductible. Gifts may also be made online at www.elon.edu/makeagift. If making a gift online, select “other” under the box for where funds are to be applied and write in “Chaplain’s Fund/flood relief” in the text box.
You may also want to consider a donation to help the citizens of Tennessee through the Red Cross.
The Elon University Disaster Response Task Force is monitoring the situation in Nashville and has been advised that at this time, monetary contributions can make the biggest difference at this time. The DRTF was established this year in response to the earthquake in Haiti, and serves as the coordinating committee for all disaster relief and response activities in the Elon community.
Please address all inquires to the DRTF, or the Citizens Emergency Response Team at Elon University to the Kernodle Center, or contact the DRTF chair at dkerz@elon.edu
– Written in part by Patrick McLendon