Many organizations, churches and agencies lend a helping hand to people affected by hurricanes, but college tennis teams are not often mentioned.
Ethin McKinnon, a sophomore on Jones College’s men’s tennis team, has many relatives in North Carolina, which is one of the states affected by Hurricane Helene, resulting in his team pitching in to help.
“Some of their houses were a little messed up, but my distant cousin and his son, their house was flooded all the way to the top, and they swam out of their attic,” said McKinnon. “They decided to stay because they didn’t know it was going to be that bad. I mean, they are at 3,000 feet elevation.”
Living with his grandparents and his mother, McKinnon has always been close to his family in North Carolina. That is why McKinnon, seeing his grandparents upset over their relatives, felt helpless.
McKinnon explained that those at Jones have supported him and his family. He contacted his tennis coach, and within a day there was a response.
Tennis coach Brooks Buffington shared McKinnon’s story with the team, which encouraged them to decide to contribute.
“When Ethin told me how his family was impacted, it was a no-brainer that we needed to support him and his family,” said Buffington. “I cannot imagine having to swim from your attic to get to safety.”
Buffington said the players and their families were very supportive and generous, bringing more than a carload of items that McKinnon’s family had requested.
“The whole tennis team donated cases of water, food, diapers, I mean, anything you could think of,” said McKinnon. “My car was full to the brim. My fiancée’s car was full to the brim.”
With the supplies packed up, McKinnon was able to take them to his family during fall break. He explained how they have plenty of water and food, but all that is needed are hands to help pull their things out.
“There is not much we can do as a community other than just support the people that have been affected in other ways,” he said.
McKinnon explained how reaching out to those whose relatives have been affected is one way to serve, just as McKinnon’s coach and teammates had done for him.
“It just shows the sense of community that we have here if they were to reach out. It would just show that we really are a family,” said McKinnon. “I see a lot of people here just being family to me, so it’s kind of like family helping out family.”
Brooks reiterated that sentiment.
“I have a great group of young men, women, and families who care about one another and are very willing to help one another,” Brooks said. “I always tell recruits that we are like a second family, and this was an obvious demonstration of it.”
by Destiny Velasco
