TXST Students Rebuild Flood-Damaged Homes in Kerrville

On a sunny Friday in September, 15 Texas State University students piled out of a van and surveyed the scene as a handful of carpenters worked to restore a damaged house on the banks of the Guadalupe River in the town of Hunt.

The workers set down their tools and came over to greet the students. For three months, the home’s owners and various helpers had been working intermittently to clean up and rebuild after the devastating July Fourth floods. Now, Bobcat reinforcements had arrived to help.

“Thank you for being here,” said Dennis Fillmore, a Kerrville resident who’s part of the family that owns the riverside vacation home. The house took on seven feet of water, he said, as the river swelled from its typical tranquility to a quarter-mile-wide torrent raging at 30 mph. Luckily, Fillmore and his family had decided to stay in Kerrville on that fateful night.

“The only reason we feel this house stood is those cedar trees acting as a buffer and stopping a lot of the debris,” he said. “We’re fortunate because we can rebuild. But a lot of people can’t rebuild. They lost loved ones.”

It was an eye-opening introduction for the TXST students, who had traveled to the Kerrville area for Service Saturday, a Division of Student Success program that provides monthly opportunities for students to volunteer in the community. Within minutes of their arrival, the students were pulling old nails and screws from the home’s framework, moving sheetrock, sanding, and painting.

Over two days, the student volunteers worked on two different flood-damaged houses. They learned new carpentry skills, bonded with new friends, and got a firsthand look at the aftermath of the historic Guadalupe River flood.

“Once I heard about this Service Saturday, I just knew I had to sign up,” said Madison Blake, a sophomore from Savannah, Georgia. “I’d never even heard of Kerrville, but I saw the flooding news in Georgia. I’m very happy to play a helping hand in rebuilding this community, especially after I saw the videos and heard all the stories.”

Jasmine Jennings-Rentz, associate director for Leadership & Service in the Office of Student Involvement & Engagement, organized the Kerrville volunteer trip. Without university support, she noted, it would be difficult for the students to coordinate travel and lodging for this type of volunteer outing. She found the disaster-relief group Texans on Mission through a web search. The Dallas-based nonprofit then connected her and the students with opportunities to volunteer in Kerrville.

“This has been the most meaningful Service Saturday experience,” Jennings-Rentz said. “It was very hands-on, and the staff of Texans on Mission did a really good job of teaching us how to install insulation, how to install sheetrock, how to use a saw. We were there to serve, but how cool is it to learn new skills?”

Service Saturdays usually involve activities in the San Marcos area with local governments and nonprofits, such as park cleanups and foodbank volunteering. Students can search and register for events on the Bobcat Organization Hub website.

Jennings-Rentz said the volunteer experiences provide more than an opportunity to connect with local communities.

“This is also a form of leadership,” she said. “We want to develop community-conscious student leaders who not only care about their college, but who also contribute to the communities they live in. I think that’s what makes you a well-rounded student and a well-rounded leader.”

Blake, a student leader in Leadership & Service, said she looks for opportunities to volunteer and appreciates that TXST provides options.

“I feel like a university that not only educates students but also helps them build character and participate in doing good, prepares them for their career and for making the world a better place after graduation,” she said. “It’s teaching you more than just a career that you can take outside of Texas State.”