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Purdue coordinator Malone willing to lend a hand

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More on Malone's philanthropy in Vol. 26, Issue 1 of Gold and Black Illustrated: 'Pure Gold'

Terry Malone has seen this before, more than a decade ago helping to restore the city of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005.

Last week presented a much-smaller scale natural disaster, although still one with troubling consequences for those affected. After an EF3 tornado hit Kokomo — one of nine twisters across the state of Indiana — it left more than 200 seeking temporary shelter and other residents with minor injuries. And Malone, Purdue’s offensive coordinator, again responded, helping clean up a small portion of the miles of homes and businesses left damaged.

““I’ve got a wonderful wife (Ann) and we’ve kind of developed a little bit of an attitude, being in New Orleans and having so many people in need around us, it became a bit of a lifestyle for us,” said Malone, a former Saints tight end coach. “So, when that (tornado) happened on Wednesday, on Thursday she said ‘Hey, I’m checking right now to find an organization to work for on Saturday,’ so we freed up the day and went over there. It was a terrific experience. People were very appreciative of us being there, big smiles on faces. There were tears from people who we went and helped.

“It was very satisfying. I’m not sure how much we did to help, because there’s so much work to be done, but we cleared three or four yards of debris and cut a couple trees down. But we had a really good day.”

The Malones worked with the United Way, getting to Kokomo early Saturday then dividing up into teams of about 10 and setting out to help whoever needed it.

There were plenty. On Thursday, a day after the tornado damaged houses and leveled a Starbucks, but miraculously didn’t kill, 15,000 customers were without power. That was less than 1,000 by Saturday afternoon.

The scale of Katrina in 2005 was bigger, displacing tens of thousands and killing more than 1,200. But loss can come in various levels, which the Malones have discovered.

“There was never a year in New Orleans without having something,” Terry Malone said, “so it becomes a part of the way you think. The fact is that you really don’t need to do a whole lot to help people who are in need. They really appreciate it and you get a lot more satisfaction of doing it than they probably do out of you helping them.”

Louisiana is still suffering now, with Baton Rouge dealing with floods that forced more than 10,000 people to seek refuge in more than 50 Red Cross and community shelters, per FEMA.

And almost 55,000 residential structures have been damaged by the rains that started earlier this month. And water remains. At Purdue’s preseason football banquet, Malone appealed to others for help.

Volleyball player Faye Adelaja knows the situation, being a native of Baton Rouge. Her parents live there, where her dad is the doctor at a medical clinic that mom manages.

“My house lost power for a few days,” the fifth-year senior said earlier this month. “We have some people staying with us now because they lost their houses and cars and stuff. But my parents say our house is OK, thank God. And their clinic is all right, too, and everything is OK there, too. My sister and them couldn’t go to work for a couple days, because they were shutting down everything. And they couldn’t even get out of the house, because there was flood waters surrounding it.”

It’s devastating loss for many, but can be lessened with the help of others, like the Malones and Adelajas.

“It changes your perspective on things,” Faye Adelaja said. “And I’ve been through hurricanes that come up from the south, just the fact that it was a massive thunderstorm that did that, it is crazy.”

Faye Adelaja is a senior middle blocker for the Boilermakers. (Purdue)

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