Charleston Day School Student Organizes Donation Drive for Heavily Flooded Columbia Area

Jack Gilchrist’s family was fortunate. The Gilchrists moved from the Gills Creek area of Columbia to Charleston only a month before the historic flood swept through the Midlands. Houses in the Gills Creek neighborhood were inundated with five feet of water or more. The destroyed roads were where Jack used to ride his bike, the displaced families their friends.

Nine-year-old Jack wanted to help.

Jack asked his father about doing a fundraiser to help those affected by the flooding in his old neighborhood. The two of them organized the event through Charleston Day School, where Jack stood up in front of the student body and explained what he wanted to do and why, accenting his stories with photos of the affected area and his friends’ water-filled homes in Columbia.

“We had to help in some way,” said Jack.

Students at the school collected more than 100 first aid kits and wet wipes for the Red Cross to give to Columbia families in need. For his thoughtfulness and willingness to help others, Louise Welch Williams of the North Charleston Red Cross took Jack on a tour of the office and gave him a Red Cross pin. “I would be proud to have you wear the Red Cross pin,” Williams said.

Gills Creek was among the hardest hit regions of South Carolina, exacerbated by several broken dams during the torrential rainfall. In this area and others, the Red Cross has provided care, comfort, and hope to thousands affected by the flooding. To find out more about how to help others in Columbia or your own community, contact your local chapter or visit redcross.org/sc.