Hurricane Helene: How to Help, Donate, and Join Relief Efforts to Impacted Communities
Hurricane Helene’s devastating winds, torrential rainfall, and flood waters have caused widespread power outages, leveled entire neighborhoods, and cut off access to food, drinking water, and life-saving medical supplies to millions across the southeastern United States.
The Category 4 hurricane made landfall Thursday in the Florida Big Bend and tore a 500-mile path of destruction through Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee. The storm has left 130 dead and hundreds missing. The Carolinas, where mudslides and severe flooding are the most severe in mountain areas, have suffered some of the worst damage, where more than 80 people have been reported dead.
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In the coming weeks and months ahead, millions of affected citizens will require the support of government and disaster relief organizations, nonprofits, and the donations of citizens across the country to help rebuild vulnerable communities, cities, and towns from the ground up.
Here’s a list of places where you can volunteer, and donate to emergency relief efforts. Note, for those looking to volunteer, it’s usually best to sign up first and wait for instructions on where to meet, how to prepare, etc. to help organizations keep their humanitarian efforts streamlined and efficient.
Food and Water
World Central Kitchen
WCK provides freshly made meals to those communities impacted by climate disasters and in humanitarian crises. The organization is currently seeking volunteers, who are usually enlisted to help with food prep, meal delivery, and loading and unloading kitchen supplies. As of Tuesday, WCK has provided meals in Florida and Georgia. WCK is active on social media and you can look for updates on where the will be distributing free meals on Instagram, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter). Donations to WCK can also be made.
Manna FoodBank
As of Sept. 30, Manna announced that its Asheville, North Carolina facility was hit with flooding and damage from the storm and is currently closed for safety reasons. The organization serves communities across 16 counties in Western North Carolina, including the Qualla Boundary, and has shifted “toward relief efforts.”
The organization is included on the list since needs will most likely change in the coming days as the organization recovers and reorganizes staff and volunteers. In the meantime, donations can be made, and volunteers can sign up to help in the future. Keep up with updates on Instagram and X.
BeLoved Asheville
This nonprofit provides a wide variety of supplies, so the organization appears on this list more than once. BeLoved Asheville is looking for donations of bottled water and food, among a variety of other supplies (see below). The local organization is also looking for volunteers to help organize and deliver donations. Truck drivers are also being sought to help with efforts.
BeLoved Ashville is active on Instagram and Facebook.
Hygiene, Diapers, Medical Supplies, and More
The Diaper Bank of North Carolina
The Diaper Bank of North Carolina is helping bring relief to families in Western North Carolina. Donations will go toward diapers for infants and toddlers, period products for menstruating individuals, adult incontinence supplies for seniors and those with disabilities, and formula for infants.
According to the organization, some of the best ways to help its efforts is to 1) donate to assist the organization in buying and distributing these often overlooked supplies, 2) host a drive to collect diapers, period products, and formula in your community, and to 3) spread the word on social media.
Donations can be made and the organization is providing updates on its relief efforts on Instagram and Facebook.
BeLoved Asheville
This nonprofit is in need of contractor size trash bags, clothes of all sizes (including baby clothes), blankets, first aid supplies, feminine hygiene products, diapers, hand sanitizer, toilet paper, paper towels, bleach (bottles, sprays, wipes), shovels, brooms, gloves, coolers, propane cook stoves, flashlights, batteries, fans, dehumidifiers, and generators. Donations toward supplies can be made via Venmo and Paypal. The local organization is also looking for volunteers to help organize and deliver donations. Truck drivers are also being sought to help with efforts.
BeLoved Ashville is active on Instagram and Facebook.
Project HOPE
Project Hope has an emergency response team in western North Carolina providing affected communities with medical and relief supplies in partnership with the North Carolina Free and Charitable Clinics. The distributed supplies include clean water, support for medical clinics, and mental health care.
The also have a team on the ground at an emergency medical shelter in Asheville, North Carolina, that is in urgent need of clean water.
Donate here. You can follow their updates on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Save the Children
Save the Children is working to get child-focused supplies to Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee including hygiene kits, diapers, and baby wipes, as well as classroom-cleaning kits to schools and child care centers. The nonprofit is also working with local education partners to help restore child care and early learning centers damaged by Hurricane Helene, while their psychosocial support team is assessing the mental health needs of impacted children and caregivers to begin planning long-term recovery support.
Donate here. Follow their progress on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Emergency Animal Care
Humane Society of the United States
The Humane Society operates a deployable Animal Rescue Team that can be on the ground in times of disaster. There are currently four teams from the Humane Society stationed in Florida and Tennessee, where volunteers have set up both mobile vet clinics and drive-thru depots for pet food and supplies.
The group has also helped transfer shelter animals in the path of the storm to shelter partners in different states. The organization is asking supporters to help by donating to aid distribution centers and vet care. Visit its public fundraiser on Facebook for more information.
Rebuilding Infrastructure, Community Clean-Ups
All Hands and Hearts
This global organization mobilizes volunteers and works with communities to help families rebuild homes and schools following climate disasters.
A Sept. 30 update from All Hands and Hearts reported that its Disaster Assistance Response Teams (DART) are actively collaborating with local communities to focus on critical tasks such as debris removal and clearing hazardous trees to help restore safety and access. The organization said that as road conditions improve, it will expand its efforts into more remote, heavily impacted areas in North Carolina.
Teams have also been mobilized across Florida to address the storm’s impacts, and the organization is preparing to start “mucking and gutting” homes affected by the heavy rains.
Applications to volunteer are currently closed, though an update will be given on Oct. 3. In the meantime, donations can be made to support the organization’s efforts.
This article will be updated with additional ways to help as more information is made available. Please check back for more information.
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