Hurricane Harvey devastated parts the Houston metropolitan area in August of 2017 causing around $125 billion in damage, tying it with Hurricane Katrina as one of the costliest tropical cyclones on record to hit the U.S., according to Wikipedia.
The storm wiped out of the majority of homes, schools, and businesses in Rockport, Texas
And much of their infrastructure is still in ruin eight months later. Rockport-Fulton High School was severely damaged and their gym was completely destroyed.
This meant that the dreams of the school’s senior students to compete on varsity teams were crushed, including the girl’s volleyball team.
“Before Harvey, I looked forward to my senior year and being able to get those moments that every senior gets and I kind of didn’t get those moments,” one team member said tearing up. “But I think overall I got more out of it than I probably ever would have.”
That’s because she got to witness her community and surrounding communities come together to make the best of a terrible situation.
It wasn’t easy seeing their town torn apart.
There were 130 mph winds when the eye of the storm moved right over Rockport.
“The moment I realized how bad it was was when we had pictures of our gym and it was just everywhere,” said another teen in tears. “It was like a second home to us and seeing it destroyed was completely devastating.”
But what remained in the rubble was a picture of the girl’s volleyball team.
“The picture was barely visible but it was an odd sense of home,” she said.
Despite the fact that they didn’t have a gym to play or practice in, the team’s coaches were determined to move on. They texted the girls to tell them that they were still going to have a season.
Not only did they want to give them the varsity team experience they dreamed of, but they also sought to give the girls a sense of normalcy and a home-like setting since many of their homes had been destroyed.
The coaches, their community, people from other towns rallied together to raise money for the team.
It paid for equipment and uniforms while other school districts, who were the team’s rivals, welcomed them like family and allowed them to play in their gyms.
“We really just saw the good in humanity so many people reached out,” one of the volleyball players said.
The team’s positive attitude throughout these times caught the attention of The Ellen Show.
“You always have a choice to make the best out of a situation having that positive mindset and wanting to make it better is what really got us through Harvey,” said one of the teammates.
The school thought they were filming a video for EllenTube when the show’s host Ellen DeGeneres surprised them.
“That’s what’s amazing about your story, I mean you’ve lost so much and yet everyone came together to help the community,” DeGeneres said.
DeGeneres surprised the school with the biggest gift she’s ever given. See what she surprised the school in the video below.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
