By SYDNEY KENT
After recent catastrophic weather events in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, several organizations in the community are coming together in efforts to offer desperately needed support.
At least 230 people have died as a result of Hurricane Helene at the end of September, which catastrophically flooded towns throughout several states, destroying homes, roads and bridges.
While scrambling to recover from the aftermath of Helene, Hurricane Milton hit Florida on Wednesday night. The category 3 hurricane ignited multiple tornadoes before landfall throughout the state, causing further destruction and loss of life.
Sunlight Wesleyan Church in Bluffton put out a call to “fill the foyer” with necessary items to provide relief in North Carolina. The state currently has the highest confirmed death toll after Helene.
“The Crossroads District churches are going to fill a truck with supplies and deliver them to a North Carolina relief staging area,” a post from the church’s Facebook page reads. “They have sent a list of much-needed supplies.”
The list includes bottled water in large quantities, feminine hygiene products, diapers, toiletries, canned food that can be opened without a can opener and cases of nonperishable items.
Donations can be dropped off at Sunlight Wesleyan church during church hours until Saturday.
Beauty From Ashes salon, located at 122 North Johnston Street, is also collecting hurricane relief donation items in their storefront to be taken to North Carolina by Mission House in Huntington. Questions can be directed to 260-353-1622.
Items needed at this location include the same as above, plus soap, wipes, socks, work gloves, pet foods, candles, matches or lighters, flashlights and batteries.
Anyone who would like to donate financially is encouraged to do so through the American Red Cross. The National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster encourages those who wish to volunteer not to “self-deploy” and sign up through trusted organizations.
“Be patient,” the NVOAD website urges. “Recovery lasts a lot longer than the media attention. There will be volunteer needs for many months, often years, after the disaster.”
sydney@news-banner.com
