Drama Dawg Disaster: Help Camphor

After a career of almost twenty years spent at Ocean Springs High School, Theatre Director Sandra Camphor made her exit in December 2015. In the piece done by an OSHS student in The Ocean Springs Record Camphor said: " It's the best job I've ever had because if you do it right, you feel like you are doing something to change the world for the good." And change the world for the good she did !

Now it is our time to change her world for the good.
On the morning of Thursday, April 28th, 2016, a great storm struck the Mississippi Gulf Coast the likes of which had not been witnessed in this area since August 2005. In just a matter of hours, over ten inches of rain was dumped on the Coastal cities and towns and initiated warnings of flash floods. A tornado warning was issued and neighborhoods were filled with terror as hail bombarded rooftops and thunder shook their walls.  In the midst of this hell, Sandra Camphor sat in her living room recliner and listened to the terror outside. While she sat, rainwater leaked from her ceiling onto her chair, prompting Camphor to stand up and move her recliner out of the way. Not long after she moved the recliner,  a bolt of lightning struck a large pine tree next to her house. The tree fell and punched a gaping hole into the roof above her living room causing the ceiling to collapse and blow sheetrock, insulation, wood, and rainwater all over the room. 

Due to the incredible damage, Camphor was forced to leave her home to seek shelter as her home is unlivable. Thankfully, friends of Camphor have already offered her temporary refuge. Camphor is living comfortably with friends a short distance from her home. Additionally, these friends came to her rescue by cleaning and gutting her space thereby saving her demolition and tree removal costs. While gutting and inspecting her home, it was discovered that Camphor's house is in dire need of renovation. Her bathroom is not handicapped accessible, and it extremely difficult for her to use this space due to a knee injury. There are also no clothes washer/dryer hookups in the residence. We hope to be able to retrofit the plumbing to add these necessities to her living spaces, but it will be costly. 

The preliminary damage estimate to her home from the storm is approximately $13,000. Thankfully, her home insurance will cover this most of this cost but she is responsible for a $2,500 deductible. She cannot afford the deductible. Moreover, she cannot afford the additional work needed to make her bathroom handicap accessible as well as the other much-needed renovations. Don't forget the clothes washer and dryer that would fill the laundry room. This additional renovation/retrofitting work has a preliminary cost of $15,000. Add the cost of a washer and dryer and the total expense for bringing this storm to an end for our beloved Sandra Camphor is roughly $30,000.



Camphor has lived in Ocean Springs without any family support for her entire career. However, it was she who introduced many of us to the love of a family outside of our blood. She stewarded the family of Ocean Springs Theatre Arts, which became a home away from home for generations of techies and actors. Camphor instilled in each of us a desire to not only love the Art of the Theatre, but to love each other in good times and in hardship. 

Camphor has placed this task in God's hands, and, in turn, God has sent us. If you feel compelled to offer help to this wonderful woman, you can do so a few ways: a gift to this GoFundMe account; a donation of building material for the repair and renovation work; a donation of a special skill set of yours, physical labor, and especially prayer. 

The Original Drama Dawg calls for aid. 
We will answer.