Sue Wasserman ’84 had heard the weather forecast. She knew it was serious. “But I don’t know if anybody anticipated just how bad it would get,” she says.
Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida on Sept. 27, 2024, and moved across the South, dumping previously unimaginable amounts of rainfall in and around Asheville, North Carolina, where Wasserman lives. Helene also spawned eight tornadoes in the state, and the combination of high winds and historic flooding wreaked havoc on the region.
At the time, Wasserman lived in a duplex in a wooded area. Around 5 a.m. on Sept. 27, the wind began to howl in a way she had never heard. It reminded Wasserman of a maniacal symphony, with quiet moments building to immense crescendos. She curled into a fetal position in her bedroom and hoped for the best.
About 7 a.m., she heard a tree crash down onto her apartment, breaking parts of the roof. Whenever a new seam opened above her, Wasserman scrambled to put buckets underneath the leak. A few hours later, after the winds died down, she cautiously stepped outside.
“I wanted to check on one of my older adult neighbors,” Wasserman says, “but I couldn't figure out how to get to their house because there were so many trees down” — including the huge oak that destroyed the duplex’s carport and smashed her Honda Insight.
It took five days before Wasserman could leave her damaged home and begin the process of putting her life back together. The daily list of tasks was overwhelming. She needed to find a new car, but before she could file an insurance claim, she had to figure out how to get her car out of the wreckage.
Meanwhile, many alumni of The Ohio State University watched news footage showing the heartbreaking devastation of western North Carolina. And, as Buckeyes often do, they answered the call for help.
Joyce Wagner ’92, president of the Delaware County Alumni Club, donated to a fund called Buckeyes Helping Buckeyes in the wake of Hurricane Helene. The grant program awards up to $1,000 to Ohio State alumni who are facing financial hardships. “When a disaster like this occurs, people are affected for months, maybe years. I think about how they might need to buy a replacement car or rent an apartment or live in a hotel,” Wagner says. “In many instances, insurance won’t cover the totality of what is needed to fully recover.”
Peggy Agle ’81, who serves on the College of Nursing Alumni Society Board, felt the same tug. She had visited Asheville just a few weeks before the storms. When she heard about Buckeyes Helping Buckeyes, she generously donated, knowing the funds could help alumni living in the hurricane’s path who were trying to recover from the damage.
Before graduating from Ohio State in 1984, Wasserman came to the university on a fencing scholarship, winning four Big Ten titles in a row. After Hurricane Helene, she heard about Buckeyes Helping Buckeyes from her local alumni club. She applied for a grant and was awarded $1,000, which she put toward a replacement car.
“It was such a great gift, and it was more than just the $1,000. It was the concern for me as a human being. That made such an impact on me,” Wasserman says. “I’m so grateful — for the money that helped fund the car, but also that people realized I was hurting and wanted to help. It truly touched me.”
Matt Hall learned about the Buckeyes Helping Buckeyes fund soon after he joined the Ohio State Alumni Association Board in 2018, and in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and multiple natural disasters affecting so many people, he began to champion the program.
“People were struggling and needed help,” Hall says. “We knew about this fund, but we hadn’t thought about the specifics. A couple of board members like myself and Rosa Ailabouni got more involved, putting some additional parameters around it and then encouraging people to contribute to it.”
Anyone can make a gift to Buckeyes Helping Buckeyes, and Ohio State alumni can apply for a grant by completing a brief online application that demonstrates need. Financial hardships could be due to medical conditions requiring hospitalization, unexpected job loss, property damage due to a calamitous event or other difficult situations.
“We didn’t want it to be too complicated, but also wanted to make sure it was filling the need. Even a little bit can have an impact on somebody,” Hall says. “There’s this connection among Buckeyes where you’re proud to be a graduate and proud to say you’re a Buckeye. And if there's a Buckeye in need, there are people out there who can help.”
Since January 2021, the program has awarded 95 grants totaling $86,388. “Buckeyes Helping Buckeyes is special because we are able to rapidly provide resources to fellow Buckeyes in real time,” says Molly Ranz Calhoun, President and CEO of the alumni association, whose office regularly reviews applications. “I’ve heard from alumni who lost everything in the January 2025 Los Angeles fires and were able to replenish basic necessities because of the program. This is a great way for the Scarlet and Gray family to help our own.”
Often, it only takes one unpredicted setback to cause serious financial hardship. That was the case for Columbus-based alumnus Kent Kristy ’95, a U.S. Army veteran who deployed to Kuwait multiple times. Kristy worked as a driver for DoorDash, but in the fall, he had an unexpected surgery that prevented him from driving for about a month. No driving meant no income.
“I don’t have sick time or paid leave, but I had to get this surgery. I didn’t know how I was going to do it,” he says. “If I was late paying bills and couldn’t cover basic things, everything would get worse from there.”
Kristy saw information about Buckeyes Helping Buckeyes in an email from the alumni association and applied for a grant. Soon after, he received $1,000. “It seems like a small thing, but this was such a huge help to me. I think about it every day. If I hadn’t gotten that grant, I don’t know what I would have done,” he says. “It’s also a motivating factor — I want to get my finances in order so that I can donate.”
That’s the beauty of the Buckeye community. They don’t just give back; they pay forward.