Before the historic weather storm the week of Feb. 14, Student Bonfire helped provide the Bryan-College Station community with firewood in preparation for the cold weather.
Student Bonfire traditionally sells firewood every year as a fundraiser to offset the cost of tools and other expenses. With the winter storms approaching, however, leadership including chemical engineering junior and senior redpot Jacob Lewis thought they could help out the community with the extra firewood.
“We just figured after the support we received in the last year due to COVID[-19], it would be a good opportunity to give back to the county,” Lewis said.
What started out as a small proposition rapidly grew after a post on their Facebook page had spread their offer around the Bryan-College Station area. General studies junior and junior redpot Bryan Peters said initial customers helped spread the message about free wood and they ended up supplying hundreds of cars on site.
“We had a ton of people. We were not expecting as good of a turnout as we had,” Peters said.
Bonfire leadership strived to make sure no one left empty handed, splitting more wood as people continued arriving. Bonfire advisor Dion McInnis said he was blown away by the response and was happy to see the effect it had on the community.
“When it was all said and done, it was all trial by fire,” McInnis said. “I couldn’t be more proud of them because they asked for it, and they had some inkling of the scope of the challenge that they were volunteering for, but they didn’t flinch and they doubled down.”
Some of the firewood that was given out for free was some people’s only source of heat during the widespread power outages from the storm.
“It felt pretty good knowing … we were getting rid of old wood that we had literally no use for that was just taking up a lot of space, and turning it into something that people could benefit from,” Lewis said.
This is not the first time student leaders in Bonfire have stepped up to use their ability to help the community. They have exemplified selfless service by offering their help on multiple occasions, such as when Franklin was hit with a bad storm a few years ago. Lewis said Student Bonfire appreciates the community and will always lend a hand when something arises.
“If given the opportunity, we are not going to hesitate to give back to the community so we can rely on each other when times are tough,” Lewis said.