How to help: Ways to donate after Hurricane Helene and Milton
Here are some of the national disaster relief organizations and…
Relief organizations working with churches to aid communities hit by Helene
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Churches of Christ and their associated relief organizations continued to send aid throughout the Southeast as damage and needs were assessed after Hurricane Helene. Meanwhile, Florida dealt with additional fallout from Hurricane Milton.
Helene, which made landfall Sept. 26 in Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane, left a wide swath of destruction from storm surge, wind, landslides and flooding through Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Virginia. A week later, the death toll stood at 227, with an unknown number still missing or unaccounted for, The Associated Press reported.
Two weeks later, Milton landed south of the Tampa Bay area as a Category 3 hurricane late Oct. 9, bringing tornadoes and flooding — though storm surges were not as severe as predicted. AP has reported at least four deaths and more than 3 million without power. Early Thursday morning, tropical storm and storm surge warnings were still in effect as weakened Milton moved into the Atlantic.
Storm damage in Keaton Beach, Fla., after the landfall of Hurricane Helene.
Churches of Christ Disaster Relief Effort, based in Nashville, Tenn., was working to deliver food, water and personal care items through the Cedar Key Church of Christ and Lake City Church of Christ in Florida, the Lakeland Church of Christ in Georgia, Forrest Park Church of Christ in Valdosta, Ga., the Central Church of Christ in Augusta, Ga., and Elizabethton Church of Christ in Tennessee.
Additional truckloads were being sent to churches in Live Oak and Cross City, Fla.; Quitman and Savannah, Ga.; Newport and Erwin, Tenn.; Sylva, Hendersonville, Asheville, West Jefferson, Rutherfordton and Boone, N.C.; and Abingdon Virginia.
Related: How to help: Ways to donate after Hurricane Helene and Milton
Volunteers packed food boxes for several days at the disaster relief organizations warehouse on 410 Allied Drive in Nashville.
Several churches in North and South Carolina requested supplies be held while they lack the means for storage and distribution amid continued power and communication outages, CCDRE said in a Facebook post.
Virginia National Guard soldiers provide emergency response around Abingdon, Va., after Helene.
The area around the Tri-Cities School of Preaching and Christian Development — hosted at the Stoney Creek Church of Christ in Elizabethton, about 2 hours northeast of Knoxville — suffered severe wind damage. There was some water damage to the school itself, director Bill Haywood told The Christian Chronicle.
The nearby towns “are very bad,” Haywood said, with severe flooding in Elizabethton, Hampton, Roan Mountain and Erwin, as well as Damascus in Virginia. The Tri-Cities school dismissed classes for the week so students could help in the community, including shoveling mud, removing debris and delivering water, he added.
Related: With chainsaws and supply runs, ‘faith-based FEMA’ responds to Hurricane Helene
Churches of Christ Disaster Response Team, based in Tipp City, Ohio, was also working with the Forrest Park church and the Newsome Street Church of Christ in Hahira, Ga.
The organization shared photos and video on social media of its team of volunteers cutting and removing fallen trees in Valdosta.
The team requested additional volunteers and disaster relief coordinators who could commit to spending several weeks onsite.
Disaster Assistance CoC, based in Lake Jackson, Texas, set up its mobile headquarters serving meals in a Walmart parking lot in Perry, Fla., before moving into Augusta, Ga., at the Central Church of Christ, and then Weaverville, N.C.
It was working with other teams and partners to feed residents of Cedar Key and Punta Gorda, Fla.; Hendersonville, N.C., in conjunction with the Hendersonville Church of Christ; and Quitman, Ga.
Workers with Disaster Assistance CoC give out food at a Walmart in Augusta, Ga., after Hurricane Helene.
The organization reported giving out hundreds of meals per day at each location — and as many as 1,600 in Weaverville.
President Mike Baumgartner told the Chronicle it’s the most widespread relief effort he’s coordinated in 19 years.
Volunteers prepare a large vat of jambalaya to distribute in Weaverville, N.C., after Hurricane Helene.
“I’ve never helped in as many different locations in different states all at the same time,” he said. “It’s just crazy the way this one came through and (has) done so much damage in so many areas. But we’re trying to get meals out to them.”
Baumgartner said his team was also making efforts to bring meals to those in harder-to-reach areas who may not be able to reach public relief centers.
Project Unify: Churches of Christ Evangelistic Disaster Relief, based in Trinity, Ala., also has a team working with the Central church in Augusta, clearing debris, providing power with generators and conducting Bible studies in the area, and requested generators, chainsaws, financial support and prayers.
“If we need to stop doing what we’re doing and drop everything to lead a study, that’s the reason we’re here … so we can open a door so that we can teach the Gospel,” co-director Cody Michael said in a Facebook video. “Sometimes Satan keeps our blinders on us for so long, and then at moments when there’s storms and trauma, sometimes those blinders for a moment get taken off and we can se clearly.”
One Kingdom, a ministry of the White’s Ferry Road Church of Christ in West Monroe, La., was working with churches in Swannanoa and Hendersonville, N.C., to serve food and deliver supplies from the White’s Ferry Road church.
The organization was accepting donations through Oct. 21 of basic supplies including diapers, blankets, canned food and first aid kits to deliver to those areas. The full list can be found at www.onekingdom.org.
The South Gate Church of Christ in Columbia, Tenn., sent a disaster response team to Newport, Tenn., with 1,600 meals and was accepting donations for additional support.
The Cortez Church of Christ in Florida was raising money for building repairs through a GoFundMe titled “Property repairs Cortez Church of Christ.”
Related: ‘Jesus is near, and the ambulance is on its way’
The church building had a foot of standing water inside after Helene, minister Kevin Hall wrote on the fundraising page, and the congregation couldn’t afford flood insurance.
That fishing village near Tampa was hit by another storm surge from Hurricane Milton.
The Boone Church of Christ in North Carolina, near the campus of Appalachian State University, was accepting monetary donations to minister to its community.
In a Facebook post, the 70-member congregation said it was able to to deliver generators and water to all its members, as well as some neighbors and family, in addition to tree and brush removal.
“There are no words to describe the damage,” minister Jason Moon added. “Wind is powerful, but water is even stronger! But nothing compares to the power of the love of God’s people who want to help others.”
Florida College in Temple Terrace, just outside Tampa, dismissed its classes Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 9 and 10, ahead of Hurricane Milton’s arrival.
This post is being updated. If you have information about disaster relief in your area, email [email protected].
