SOUTH HILL, VA. -- A Virginia conservation group hopes to provide Thanksgiving to 200 families that Hurricane Helene impacted in western North Carolina.
The South Hill Longbeards NWTF chapter partnered with the South Hill Antler Lodge to drop off donations in Marion and Asheville, North Carolina right after the storm hit.
"What we hoped to be one trailer load turned into four trailer loads on one trip, and we've made four trips and seven full trailer loads since," Nicholas Brown, president of the South Hill Longbeards, explained.
On Sunday, the group dropped off propane heaters and building supplies worth about $45,000 thanks to donations from several Mecklenburg County builders and Parker Oil.
"We've tried to keep up with the motion of what they're requesting," he said. "Warm clothing, forms of heat, and the building materials, because they're trying to get these tiny homes built large enough to put a family in so they will not be in a tent. They're insulating them, and they're putting heaters in them so they can get them out of those tents. Because winter is coming, and you know that's going to be a harsh time for them in that area."
Brown says they’re planning their next trip the day before Thanksgiving, and they will be providing hot meals for 200 families.
He will spend the holiday away from his home, but he says it’s worth it to give these families who’ve lost everything a little bit of hope.
"I can't imagine what they've been through," said an emotional Brown. "Anything we can do to help them, we want to do."
The group has also partnered with Frontline Santas and Avery County Public Schools to help take donations to the Tar Heel State for Christmas.
"They've been extremely thankful," said Brown, when discussing the reaction he and his group have heard from families who have received their donations. "The preacher that we have been in contact with a lot, he's putting stuff in his trucks and he's driving to the harder communities to get to, because it makes it hard for trucks and trailers to get there. So, he says it's a sigh of relief for them. You know, you can see the joy in their eyes when they pull up."
The South Hill Longbeards group is planning to put together 1,000 disaster relief bags with necessary supplies to have ready to deploy across the country whenever another storm strikes.
If you’d like to donate to their Thanksgiving, Christmas or general relief efforts, there's a relief fund set up at The Bank of Charlotte County.
You can also reach out to Brown directly by email at nwtfsouthhill@gmail.com
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