Watch the PSAs starring Mark Ingram here:
Hurricane Preparedness | Volunteering for Disaster Relief | Registering with FEMA
It was a great experience for me to go back to Tuscaloosa and give back to a place that has been such an important part of my life the past three years. They’ve supported me and been behind me for my entire career at Alabama. I just wanted to be able to give back and show support and show them that I care and go and help out, make some of their days, put a smile on their faces. That what made me happy and that’s what I wanted to do.
It was my first time being back in Tuscaloosa seeing the type of damage that happened and how devastating it was. It was really heartbreaking just to see places that I went to eat at on campus that are not there anymore. Some places, I didn’t even know where to turn because the buildings weren’t there, so I needed to remember the streets. I can only imagine how hard it is for them. You live in your house one day, and the next day everything you own is gone. For me to be able to show support for them and be a bright light for them, be something that they can be proud of and something for them to look up to, that is what really makes me happy.
I think my trip to Tuscaloosa meant a lot to a lot of people. Every person that I went to, when they saw me their eyes would light up. They wanted me to sign stuff and take pictures. Everybody was happy. I ate lunch with different people and they were excited about it. It’s like they just forgot about everything that was happening. They were just really happy and excited to be with me again, and I was happy and excited to be with them as well. Just to know that I could put a smile on their face—that is priceless.
The day was a real eye-opener. There are so many times when there are tornado warnings and other weather storm warnings and I never really paid attention to it. I would be like, “Okay, it’s going to be a little breezy out today.” But after seeing how lethal and dangerous Mother Nature can be, I think more people will take it serious when storm warnings come out. To be able to see how destructive that was—it tore up houses, tore up whole neighborhoods, tore up the whole city. It was a real eye-opening experience for me.
I definitely plan on staying involved with FEMA and with the Tuscaloosa recovery effort. Any way that I can help, any way that I can be supportive, any way that I can take the stress off and be a support system for all the people in Tuscaloosa, I’m here to help.
I’ve been playing football all my life, and I’m ready to get back to it. Right now, I just want to play.
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