Hurricane Florence brought unprecedented flooding to Washington, and while much of the community has recovered, crucial services were also impacted. The Zion’s Men’s Shelter and Kitchen sustained significant damage from the storm. Gamma Beta Phi, the academic honor society at Beaufort County Community College, toured the damage at the site and were moved to support the organization through a fundraiser. On Nov. 14, Gamma Beta Phi will hold a Walk-A-Thon to raise funds.

“There were many appliances, including a washer and dryer, and all kitchen appliances, that were lost due to flooding, along with all lower bedding,” said Leah Beth Warren, Gamma Beta Phi VP. “Homeless men have nowhere to go because of the state of the shelter at this time.”

The Walk-A-Thon will take place around BCCC’s fitness trail from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The group will also sell chili, hot chocolate and bottled water. They will have Clarke Jones with KISS 101.9FM live on campus. Organizations that wish to support the event can get advertising on the air at Bronze ($50), Silver ($100) and Gold (greater than $100). Anyone can sponsor a member of Gamma Beta Phi in the Walk-A-Thon by purchasing a “mile” from them.

Zion has been operating in Washington since 1985. Its founder, Robert Harris, has decided to dedicate his time every day to cooking for the hungry. The Zion kitchen serves a hot meal to anyone who joins from 11 to 11:30 a.m. daily. It has a capacity to sleep 12, and residents can stay for up to 120 days to get back on their feet. They connect the men to community agencies to help obtain job and housing placements in the surrounding area. Zion’s goal is to give the men of Beaufort County a warm and dry place to sleep, as well as a daily meal while they go through a tough period in their lives.

Members of Gamma Beta Phi have to be enrolled at BCCC and must be committed to excellence in education, to good character and to service. They must have completed 12 or more semester hours of college work and pay the one-time national membership fee of $60 along with local dues of $8 per semester. Members cannot have their grades drop below a GPA of 3.2. They cannot be absent from two regular meetings without justifiable excuse. The group will be inducting new members on next spring. Last year, the group has raised money for the Pamlico Rose Institute for Sustainable Culture and the Dr. Nancy Alford Memorial Scholarship.