It’s been more than a month since Hurricane Helene began its destructive push through the Southeast, and damages are still being calculated, particularly in the devastated communities of western North Carolina. At the end of October, though, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper’s office said initial estimates showed the storm had caused $53 billion in damages. As Cooper put it, the state is still “very much on the front end of this recovery effort.” As communities and individuals work to rebuild, you’re helping them do so.

Thanks to your clicks, trivia participation, shopping for a cause, and direct donations, we have teamed up with our partner Greater Good Charities (GGC) to get essential supplies to impacted North Carolinians through the YMCA of Western North Carolina. The association supports five counties and experienced their own serious flooding at their Black Mountain facility, located in hard-hit Buncombe County. They say it likely won’t reopen until mid-December at the earliest.

Their food hub had less flooding, but their facilities across the board all lacked water for days or weeks. Internet connectivity has also been a serious issue in the region. These disruptions, along with school closures, have gotten in the way of their programs that take in 1,000 kids after school.

The association told GGC, “The emotional component has been really challenging both for our team since they have the same issues, driving box trucks of food to make sure their neighbors have food. The sadness and grief on the realities of our community. 

“We were able to resume our pre-market schedule, which gets us into hardest hit areas. Going into these communities, it was really hard. There were some regulars we saw who lost everything. Between the physical and emotional, it’s been challenging in the way we operate.”

They noted that with colder weather arriving, there is concern that those who lack power may not have means to keep warm, either.

To help the organization provide relief to such members of their community, a team from GGC was on site at some of the first food distributions. We also teamed up with GGC to provide Good Packs, which contain essential items like toiletries and socks. The association says the latter has been especially helpful, as water access issues have meant no laundry.

They add, “The excitement and relief of the additional supplies: our clients were thrilled. The toiletries specifically because as things are resuming, if they are staying somewhere else, access to these kinds of supplies is tough. We got them supplies in a way that was easy to transport. We can’t take full bottles of shampoo, so everything being divided is nice, and some kids liked the backpacks; some kids were thrilled because there were water bottles. They are starting to see the potential for recovery, resuming real life like, ‘I’ll use that water bottle at my soccer game.’”

This help and hope for future normalcy has been possible thanks to you! If you’d like to continue to provide for those still recovering from Helene as we get into these colder months, click below!