It’s been one week since Helene brought torrential rain, tornadoes, and catastrophic flooding to North Carolina, and local efforts to get help to residents of Western North Carolina are ratcheting up. Hundreds of air drops carrying food, water, and more are taking place every day — many originating in the Triangle.
“Every time we reach out and say, hey, we need some more volunteers, five more show up,” said Anna Barson, a member of the volunteer organization Triangle Young Professional Civitan, and a volunteer coordinator for a major local drive.
Anna said after seeing images of the damage last weekend she decided to act — partnering with two local breweries to set up supply drop locations. Shortly thereafter, interest in the effort ballooned.
“Within 24 hours, we had 13 different breweries and coffee shops saying, ‘Hey, we want to be a drop spot, too,'” she said.
On Friday evening, dozens of volunteers showed up at Boxyard RTP to pack up six U-Haul trucks and two cargo vans with supplies that will first make their way to an airport in Statesville, then get packed onto planes for airdrops in the mountains.