#BahamasHurricaneRelief

During the afternoon of September 1, 2019, Hurricane Dorian made landfall on Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas as a major category 5 hurricane. The following day, Dorian once again made landfall – this time on Great Bahama Island, home to the city of Freeport and Jacksonville University women’s basketball player Shalonda Neely.

An integral part of the Dolphins’ squad and a member of the Bahamian National Women’s Basketball Team, Neely’s childhood home and those of several family members in their tight-knit community were destroyed as Dorian stalled over Grand Bahama and created catastrophic damage for over 48 hours before it turned and moved north out of the area.

While remaining in Jacksonville, Florida during the hurricane, Shalonda barely slept and worked to communicate with the Bahamian emergency services to facilitate the rescue of several family members – including her 10-year old cousin, who lives with Neely’s parents and is wheelchair bound.

“I was really nervous, especially because I didn’t speak to my family for the whole storm. The power went out and they were preserving their battery life for when they really needed it, so I went for hours without hearing from them or knowing what was going on. When I finally got through to them, it was because they needed to get rescued,” Neely said.

After Dorian passed, Neely was able to receive cell phone video and photos from her brother showing the damage: water rose nearly four and a half feet in the family’s home, causing a partial roof collapse; the loss of all furniture, clothing, and appliances; medical necessities for her cousin; basic living necessities; and perhaps most devastating, much of her late grandmother’s possessions that had been passed down.

With the help of the Jacksonville University Athletic Department and in compliance with the NCAA, we are sharing Shalonda’s story in hopes that this GoFundMe campaign will help restore some type of normal to Shalonda’s family. No donation is too small. Thank you all in advance for your kind gestures, which will be accepted by Zsanae Pinder (Shalonda’s aunt)the beneficiary.