Johnisha Rogers Travels with Hardin-Simmons University to Provide Wildfire Relief

2012 Mar 12

Johnisha Rogers of Jacksonville, FL, is among 20 Hardin-Simmons University students converging on Bastrop, Texas, to assist with the largest wildfire recovery in Texas history.

The event brings together students and church members from all across Texas to help with the spring break Texas Baptists-sponsored Bastrop Disaster Response Mission Trip, March 12 – 16, 2012.

In September 2011, wildfires consumed an area of 20 by 25 miles in Bastrop County and surrounding communities, burning over 1,700 structures.

In November, HSU students involved with Baptist Student Ministries went to assess the needs in Bastrop as they planned for the March spring break trip. "We helped to distribute 200 turkeys for Primera Baptist Church and helped out at a Christian camp that had lost about 21 of its 23 structures," says HSU BSM director, John Hunt.

"But our students were among many planning for a March disaster relief trip. As more and more schools and students expressed interest in helping, the BGCT took the reins in order to organize the vast number of volunteers," says Hunt.

"We are organized into groups doing construction, clean-up and clean-out, repair, and working at the disaster distribution center. Texas Baptist Men are providing shower trailers at each of the churches housing the volunteers, plus they have set up a tool trailer at the Bastrop Disaster Recovery Center for volunteers to use."

Among the churches providing housing for students are Calvary Baptist Church, Wyldwood Baptist Church, Primera Bastrop, and Faithvillage.

About Hardin-Simmons:

HSU has an enrollment of approximately 2,300 undergrad and graduate students from 29 states and 19 countries. HSU has a 13:1 student faculty ratio with a campus that sits on 209 acres. Seventy-nine percent of HSU's faculty members hold the highest degree in their field.

The university is named by U.S. News and World Report as one of the best universities in the western region of the United States and is listed by The Princeton Review as a Top Ten Best in the West University. It is a member of the Colleges of Distinction, and the Chronicle of Higher Education named HSU to its honor roll as a "Great College to Work For."

Seven undergraduate degrees encompass 70 major fields including: athletic training, criminal justice, social work, counseling, psychology, molecular biology, biochemistry, environmental science, religion, music, art, teaching, history, communications, English, and sociology.

Ten graduate degrees include the Doctor of Ministry and the Doctor of Physical Therapy.

International study programs include England, Austria, Hong Kong, Spain, and Australia.

Hardin-Simmons University, founded in 1891, is a private Christian institution, and has been affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas (Texas Baptists) since 1941.