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.”