When natural disasters strike and devastate an area, the news cameras come in and tell the stories of the victims.

If many are killed, people are moved to take action by donating their money and time to relief efforts. However, once the cameras stop rolling, people start to forget about the tragedy and those whose lives are forever altered.

Over spring break, I went to Bartlesville, Okla. to help build a house for Habitat for Humanity. It was an amazing experience. It was the ride home that almost brought me to tears. Our group decided to take a small detour through Joplin, Mo. to see if we could still see the scars from the tornado that hit last May.

From the highway, it’s hard to see the damage the deadliest tornado in U.S. history which claimed the lives of over 160 people did to this city. However, after getting off the highway and driving through the town, I realized the reconstruction is far from over. The EF-5 tornado ripped through Joplin, leaving a path of destruction one mile wide by six miles long.

We kept driving and saw parking lots without structures, foundations without homes and the hospital which had been picked up and moved by the tornado. The town looked like a landfill. Even the trees still looked disfigured from the storm. It was like driving through a war zone, even after almost a year of reconstruction.

We heard chilling stories from the men we worked with building the Habitat house.

The tornado hit on May 22, which was graduation day at Hope High School. According to one of the stories, the ceremony at the high school had just ended and a mother and daughter had left early to prepare for a graduation party celebration. The father and his son, who had just graduated, left a little later and got caught in the storm. The car they were driving had a sunroof and when the tornado passed, the son was lifted out of the car through the sunroof. The father tried holding on to the boy’s legs but the force from the storm ripped them apart. The boy’s body was found a few days later. Hope High School was flattened.

This is just one of many stories, but even in the midst of tragedy, we where still able to witness the power of compassion and unity.

I know what it’s like first-hand having nothing to offer, when you feel an intense need to help after a natural disaster. However, even the smallest donation has its impact. Organizations like the Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity and many others offer assistance to these areas, but they can’t do it alone. You may be a college student, but if every college student was to sacrifice one of their daily cups of coffee, Joplin would be rebuilt already. So, if you think you’re “too small” to make a difference, think again.

It’s so important not to forget places like Joplin, New Orleans, Haiti and Japan. When the news moves on, individual support shouldn’t. These people have already lost so much, so don’t let them lose the last thing they have left: hope.