FIU football provides a helping hand and shows their support to the Hurricane Irma victims

By Brett Shweky/Sports Director

Earlier this week, the FIU football team joined members of the U.S Public Health Service and the Monroe County Fire and Rescue in assisting Hurricane Irma evacuees who have taken refuge at the Modesto campus.

As Hurricane Irma positioned herself to make landfall, FIU opened their doors and managed to provide shelter to over 500 evacuees, including 139 people with special needs. With the evacuation being managed by Monroe County, the Florida Department of Health, the American Red Cross, and the U.S. Public Health Service, the Modesto campus converted the university’s wellness and health center, parking garage six, and the Ocean Bank Convocation Center into evacuation shelters and post-storm living quarters.

Several players from the football team spent their Monday morning showing their support to the Hurricane Irma victims. Senior quarterback Alex McGough explained that he felt the team simply being with the evacuees helped brighten their day and also shows them the university is behind them.

“When coach [Butch Davis] said that we can come out here and help people that got affected by the hurricane we knew immediately that we could make an impact,” said McGough. “It’s really a heart-warming experience when you can see people that got affected by the storm, but are still able to remain in such high spirits. You know they’re still happy to see us and at the same time it lifts my spirits because no matter what you are going through there are always positives in any given situation.”

Redshirt-freshman tight end Charlie Peterson discussed how he believes helping out the Hurricane Irma victims makes not only the evacuees feel better, but also makes the team feel good about giving back to the community.

“It just makes you feel good. You know being part of this community and being able to give back to a place that has given me support feels really good,” said Peterson.

The Panthers will return to the field this Saturday for the first time since Hurricane Irma hit and will travel to Houston, Texas as the team prepares to take on the Rice Owls. Kickoff from Rice Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m.