HUNT, Texas — There’s still a lot of work to be done to rebuild Kerr County after the deadly July 4 floods. But thankfully, many hands make light work.
Volunteers in Hunt are raking up rocks and clearing the way for new grass off the riverbank.
“Yard work, and I was like alright sounds great,” said volunteer Christian Armendariz.
Armendariz serves as a campus minister at Texas State University.
“I have close to 20 students of mine here,” Armendariz said. “But even to see different, other universities that have come out for different retreats, to come and give back is just incredible.”
Dozens of students came from Kerrville, San Marcos, New Braunfels and San Antonio and spent a day doing yard work. Standing side by side with locals, they’re breathing new life into this flood-impacted area.
“Putting down sod and clearing out rocks,” Armendariz said. “Things that would seem like little things, just mean so much to these people. And to hear their gratitude.”
Armendariz says he has come to retreats in the Hill Country over the years, so it was an easy ask to help with service projects in the area after the flooding.
“I just feel privileged to be able to give back to a community that has given me so much,” Armendariz said. “They don’t even realize how much they’ve given me. But now I’m able to serve them.”
University of Texas at San Antonio student Claudia Arias says she spent most of her Saturdays last year in Kerr County volunteering with the charity HOPE Worldwide.
“Whenever destruction hits, it’s really important for us to help as much as we can,” said Arias.
But her connection to Hunt predates the flood.
“I got to grow up coming out here, and it means a lot to us,” Arias said. “A lot of people that I’m close with got baptized in that river.”
So, she’s back again — this time to lend a helping hand.
“We go back to our convictions, to help those in need,” Arias said.
It’s a community effort along the Guadalupe River to assist neighbors and pick up the pieces, moving forward beyond the destruction and looking towards brighter days.
“Think it just shows how much of an impact Hunt has had,” Armendariz said. “Not only for their community, but communities around, that they might not even realize.”