Hurricane Harvey was a category 4 storm that hit the Houston area on August 25^th causing severe flooding and major evacuations. The Klein area opened shelters and provided supplies for those who were in need.

“We are a very close community, so it was really important that we all came together to help out and donate,” junior Jaeda Schmidt, said.

Numerous community members made donations, and many shelters had to start turning them down because they had reached the maximum amount.

“Even though shelters began turning down donations I wasn’t discouraged, because I knew that there were still victims who needed more,” senior Yashne Gonzales, said.

The amount of donations that were in shelters exceeded the expectations that many people originally had.

“I was surprised to see so many shelters start turning down donations. I didn’t think people would risk getting on the roads to donate clothes and offer help to people who they don’t know, but I guess I was wrong because the shelters filled up really quickly,” junior Caleb Ford, said.

Many Klein students and members of the community donated numerous amounts of clothes and money to help with Harvey relief.

“I felt that I needed to donate money and clothes, because I am not financially burdened and I have so many extra clothes that other people may need more than I do,” Schmidt said.

All of Houston had a huge amount of help and support from the community, but the Klein community in particular had one of the largest amounts of volunteers and over $5,000 in donations of school supplies for Lemm Elementary.

“Aside from donating I also volunteered because I think it’s important to get out and offer people hands-on help because it is a good experience, and it also makes me feel like I helped out as a person,” Schmidt said.

Overall, the community had surpassed the limit of donations in most shelters and stuck together to help victims affected by Harvey.

“A lot of people who were not affected felt bad for others and wanted to do something to help out, so it makes sense that there were a lot of donations being that a lot of people weren’t able to offer physical help,” Ford said.