Hurricane Milton was a Category 3 hurricane that struck Florida on Wednesday, Oct. 9. The storm took the lives of at least 24 individuals and left over 3.2 million consumers without power. The storm moved east-northeast across the Floridian peninsula, also causing destruction in neighboring states.

NMU’s Student Veterans of America (SVA) collaborated with Huron Mountain Bakery to host a hurricane relief fundraising event in the Jamrich ticket booth on Oct. 25.

The student organization was able to raise $248, which will be sent to families affected by destruction in the wake of the hurricane.

The bakery donated six dozen donuts for SVA to hand out while encouraging students to donate money, which will be directly sent to the Red Cross as it supports families in the Tennessee area. 

SVA President Calvin Terry, who served as a combat medic in the army, and Vice President Landon Gray, a navy veteran who served eight years, encouraged students to make a change in a community outside of their own.

“Just because we live up in the Upper Peninsula doesn’t mean the rest of the world is safe like it is up here,” Gray said. “It’s important to be aware of what’s going on outside of our community.”

In addition to supporting those in a different community, Terry and Gray also wanted to emphasize the importance of supporting each other as fellow Americans. 

“We are all in this world together and in this country together,” Terry said. “We should be willing to support people when they’re facing hardships, no matter their political opinions, where they’re from, what color they are. We are all Americans.” 

An important purpose of this event was to keep students in the loop about events that are taking place in their country and throughout the world. 

“It’s easy for people, especially college students, to just fade into obscurity and worry about their own problems,” Terry said. “Taking the time to help each other out, getting out of your own comfort zone to get involved – it’s an important aspect that we all kind of take for granted, and especially in college.”