Wrapping Up ASB in Western N.C.

NEWLAND, N.C. — Individual stories, when witnessed, make a deep and lasting impact. Collective response, when joined, provides an even greater feeling of participation in an important event.

As the NC State students participating in an Alternative Service Break in the western North Carolina mountains completed their week of Hurricane Helene relief and recovery, they spent three full days working for a variety of people and organizations that are still digging their way out of the mess created when trillions of gallons of water rushed down the world’s oldest mountains: a widowed storm survivor, a thrift shop and a food pantry.

The recovery from the $59 billion in damages, interrupted by a harsh winter in the Smoky Mountains, has happened slowly but steadily, thanks to community spirit, volunteers from outside the area and charities that have organized the delivery of donated goods and services from all over the country.

Yes, there is still trash on the roadsides, as homeowners dump drywall, flooring, furniture and other debris from flooded interiors to await pickup. There are still shipping containers full of unsorted necessities, waiting to go out to those still in as much need as they were in September when the storm hit. There are still bridges that need to be rebuilt to reconnect residents with the outside world.

Progress, however, is ongoing.

“The debris on the road and in the rivers looks bad,” said Ruth Shirley, director for Volunteer Avery, a Newland-based organization that has taken a lead in matching volunteers with local relief needs. “But you should have seen it in January. If you think it was bad in January, you should have seen it in October.

“You can see the improvements every day. If you can get up each morning and see what has happened, and you don’t think too much about what hasn’t happened yet, life will be better. That’s what we are working for.”

Life has improved somewhat for Anita McKinney, a 69-year-old widow who has lost more than half of her annual income from the rustic cabin she has rented to short-term tourists for the last six years. When Squirrel Creek flooded her home near its confluence with the Toe River, she had to move uphill into the unwinterized cabin.

Despite the loss of the golf cart she uses to travel between her home and her rental cabin, a total loss of a refrigerator and freezer, and damage to the driveway bridge that connects her to Squirrel Creek Road, she received no federal, state or insurance reimbursements for her losses.

Now that several faith-based organizations like Boone-based Samaritan’s Purse, the Baptists on Mission, United Methodist Church on Relief and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance have removed the bulk of the downed trees, replaced her floors and counters, and completed additional large-scale projects, NC State’s students on Thursday helped McKinney move back down the hill into the house where she has lived for 30 years. They helped clean up the debris from her washed-away shed and trash that moved down the river as floodwaters subsided.

“I love to see young people that will work,” McKinney said.

When you go home, you can go to sleep at night knowing you made a difference.

She hasn’t been too concerned about what she has lost over the last six months, despite the hardships she has faced. Having a little help did bring her a little joy.

“I’m so grateful for what is left,” McKinney said.

At Reaching Avery Ministries (RAM), students sorted through donated items, including stacks of propane heaters; cases of diapers, baby wipes and feminine hygiene products; and a 10-gallon trash bag full of toothbrushes.

Those items, and scores of other products, were relatively useless when unorganized in two storage containers outside the RAM’s Rack thrift store. Then the students, their advisor, and sponsor John Vance and his family spent the day sorting them into easily identifiable shelves and storage bins.

On Friday, the weekly grocery distribution day at Feeding Avery Families Food Bank, they spent a similarly long and productive morning helping local families that frequent the charity find groceries that included fresh vegetables, donated canned goods and various kinds of frozen and refrigerated meats.

Their work brought joy to those who went to work in Helene’s immediate aftermath and have been at it ever since.

“The storm is the worst thing I have ever witnessed,” said Vanessa Phillips, program director of Feeding Avery Families, whose home suffered more than $60,000 in damage. “But the greatest thing I’ve ever seen is just having people show up to help.”

Those helpers have come from local, state and national groups of volunteers, along with assistance from the North Carolina Cooperative Extension offices in each of the 25 storm- affected counties, all of whom filled in the gaps left by aid organizations and private insurers.

Feeding Avery Families has more than 20 years of experience in lending a helping hand, with a support network that includes local farmers, direct financial assistance, grant-making organizations and similar food banks located in other parts of the state. That network was essential for serving the dozens of families that had previously relied on the county’s other food bank, which was wiped out by the storm.

At the end of the week, Shirley thanked the students for their week of hands-in-the-dirt work, along with a few suggestions for what they could do back in Raleigh’s flatlands.

“Go out and work in a local food bank,” she said. “Help people prepare for a disaster, even if they don’t think they need to.”

The list for what it takes to prepare for a disaster is long: Create a disaster-relief organizational chart, establish an emergency cell and internet service protocol, keep some cash available, know the nearest available mobile animal shelter, gas up all cars and stow away a portable radio and nonelectric lighting. All are basics of emergency preparedness.

Lastly, as the students prepared to visit the top of Grandfather Mountain for a full view of Hurricane Helene’s scars, Shirley told them to recognize and appreciate their own contributions to the region’s recovery, a main tenet of their school’s land-grant mission to serve the people of North Carolina.

“When you go home, you can go to sleep at night knowing you made a difference,” Shirley said. “That’s what I want you to get out of this. You will be successful because of it. You may not be rich, but you will be successful because you gave back, with your time, with your hands and with your work.”