Over 6,000 volunteers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are aiding relief efforts in areas impacted by Hurricane Helene, ChurchofJesusChrist.org reported.
They spent the weekend traveling across North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Georgia, where they mucked out flooded homes, cleared debris, removed downed trees and tarped roofs.
Hurricane Helene made landfall late evening on Thursday, Sept. 26, in the Big Bend region of the Florida Panhandle. As a Category 4 hurricane with winds of up to 140 miles per hour, up to 30 inches of rain and a record storm surge from waters piling up along Florida’s west coast, it was the strongest hurricane to ever hit the area and the deadliest to strike the U.S. since Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana in 2005. Over 200 people have died as of Oct. 7, multiple news outlets have reported.
In the hurricane’s wake, the Church is sending trucks of water, food, hygiene kits and other essential supplies to the locations of greatest need.
All missionaries in the region are safe. Some Church buildings in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee were damaged, but the recently completed Tallahassee Florida Temple, located 50 miles northwest of the hurricane’s landfall, was not harmed. The temple’s public open house is still scheduled to begin on Nov. 4.
Latter-day Saints serve impacted communities
Stacey Bruno of South Carolina said she drove two hours to help people like Carolyn Ward of Fairview, North Carolina.
“I hope [this experience] restores her and all our faith in humanity,” Bruno said about Ward. “In the political landscape, and just life in general, we can be bombarded by negative stuff and falsely begin to believe [false messages about people]. I hope that she knows that we are people who just love.”
Ward said the storm brought 5 feet of water through her home. But on Oct. 5 and 6, volunteers helped her clean up.
“I have seen the best in people in the past five days,” she said. “It’s made me feel better about the world in general, even though I’m standing in absolute chaos. I feel better about the world right now than I have in a long time.”
Saiid Rabiipour and his wife, Ursa, also benefited from Latter-day Saint service. They have lived for nearly 30 years near Asheville, North Carolina, and Saiid Rabiipour said he’s getting help more easily from volunteers than from his home insurance.
“What’s so overwhelming is the love of the community and the people. They are being guided by God to be here,” said Saiid, who is a man of faith. “Without the community, I would be helpless. I wouldn’t know where to start.”
President Kyle S. Gillett, president of the Church’s Asheville North Carolina Stake, said it’s beautiful to see believers come together in service.
“It’s certainly not just members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [doing service here],” he said. “We’re embedded in the Bible Belt, and there are so many people who are seeking to serve and do what Christ would do at this time.”
For those who wish to help, President Gillet said the best thing they can do is take care of their own communities first.
“We love all the support we can receive. But we want to make sure that folks are first taking care of themselves,” he said. “A theme that I have been seeking to live by and counsel by this week is something Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf [of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles] said: ‘Stand close together and lift where you stand.’ Once your local communities are supported, then reach out and see where else you can support.”
Those wanting to help can also visit JustServe.org for local service opportunities or consider donating to the Church’s Humanitarian Fund.
