Nebraska has faced the worst flooding it has seen in the last 50 years. Since March 16, one man has been counted dead, two people are missing and nearly 900 people are in temporary homes according to USA today. Due to the damage the flood has done, Nebraskans have stepped up to help. Junior Taylor Richman is one of those Nebraskans.

She not only volunteered her time to help those affected recover but also collected and donated large amounts of water, cleaning supplies and necessities for flood victims.  

“There’s a donation site in Gretna that I’m going to actually take the stuff I have today and I’ll volunteer there for a couple of days,” Richman said. “Some of the families we’re actually going personally and giving the stuff to them to help them.” 

 Richman was aware the little she had could help a family or two, but if she got the school involved and the community, they could make a wider impact. She made several posts on social media about her going to the donation center, asking for people to bring in their old clothes. 

“Some of my family and very close family friends have personally been affected by it and I know that just the small amount of stuff that I can donate wouldn’t be enough to help everyone,” Richman said. 

After reading that Richman was asking for donations sophomore Lizbeth Campuzano decided to help with the cause. Campuzano alone ended up donating about eight trash bags filled with clothes, two bags of canned food items and six cases of water. 

“There’s people out here suffering that don’t have anything or that lost everything and honestly I have too much of that [clothes] so I decided that I should give it away,” Campuzano said.  

In total, Richman donated eight bags of clothes, 40 canned items, six cases and four gallons of water as well as four bottles of bleach, four bottles of laundry soap and six boxes of saltine crackers. Other donated items from her include six packages of baby wipes, a box of baby formula, five bottles of lotion, fifteen combined bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body soap. 

Richman didn’t stop there. Also included in her donation was trash bags, paper towels, toilet paper and boxes of mac and cheese. She also assisted Student Council in raising $601.43 for the crisis.  

“People that were affected by the flooding lost everything they know if we can help relieve their pain why not,” Richman said.