We briefly discussed on Sunday focusing on Samaritan’s Purse, Franklin Graham’s relief organization – whose international headquarters is located in hard-hit Boone, NC – to channel financial support to the devastated western counties of North Carolina and the southern Appalachians in general. Our people are of course welcome to donate through the Red Cross or any other legitimate relief organization (see https://www.charitynavigator.org/ if you have any questions as to the bona fides of a particular organization), but if you would like to donate via Samaritan’s Purse, here is the link: https://www.samaritanspurse.org/…/pray-for-those-in…/ It includes a “quick and easy” link for making financial donations to Hurricane Helene relief, as well as information on what is actually being done.
Brad Panovich Meteorologist of WCNC Charlotte has been very proactive and compassionate about providing information on relief efforts following Hurricane Helene. His station has created a page in conjunction with the Red Cross to easily enable financial donations to the relief efforts. Here is the link for that: https://www.redcross.org/donate/cm/wcnc-pub.html/
Whether by means of in-kind donations, or financial donations via Samaritan’s Purse or the Red Cross, anything we do to support the efforts in western NC and the southern Appalachians will be of great benefit to the people there, and the relief workers trying to help them.
Facebook users are encouraged to check out the Major Event & All Hazards – Central NC Information Board. This Facebook group is a good source of locally-sourced information on where and what the needs are in many small communities. It’s also a place to offer skills and talents that may be of use in recovery and relief efforts, and where those skills and talents could best be put to use.
Many thanks to parishioner Bonnie Dougherty, a member of the Artists League of the Sandhills, for sharing this information on a local (Pinehurst) collection point for in-kind donations for Hurricane Helene relief:
Hurricane Assistance
Many of our League friends and family have lost everything in the aftermath of the hurricane. Our church, First Baptist Church of Pinehurst (on 211 across from Pinewild), is loading & delivering trucks with supplies. If you would like to donate the truck will be in the church parking lot daily from 9-5 this week… or you can bring items to the Artists League and I will deliver to the church. My husband will be at the church helping this afternoon and I will join him after 3:00. Checks can be made out to FBC Pinehurst and they will make sure the funds get into the right hands.
Items needed: Bottled water, toilet paper, paper towels, diapers/wipes, hand sanitizer, contractor trash bags, first aid supplies, bleach, flashlights, batteries, shovels, brooms, coolers……
Pam Griner
Office Manager
Artists League of the Sandhills
P.O. Box 460/129 Exchange St.
Aberdeen, NC 28315
[email protected]
We do not, as a parish, have the resources to send out truckloads of supplies, but our people who are able to do so can certainly bring supplies to those who can and do!
“And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40).
Relief for Western North Carolina – Samaritan’s Purse Appeal: For the remainder of this month of October, Christ Church Anglican is collecting financial donations, be they large or small, which will be sent by our parish to Samaritan’s Purse: a Christian humanitarian organization located in Boone, NC, in the heart of the area devastated by Hurricane Helene.
To donate to Samaritan’s Purse in the name of Christ Church Anglican, please write “Hurricane Relief for Western NC” on your checks made out to our parish (or an envelope containing cash, if you so choose) and place them in the offering plate, or give them to our Treasurer, Bud Saulsbury, or to Fr. Tom. We will be collecting through the last Sunday of the month, October 27th. Thank you for your generous contributions to assist our neighbors to the west, who are dealing with devastation to not only their homes and livelihoods, but in many case, whole communities.
Samaritan’s Purse mobilizes staff and equipment and enlists thousands of volunteers to provide emergency aid to victims of tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and other natural disasters in the United States, and often stays behind after the initial response to rebuild or restore houses for needy families. Samaritan’s Purse is responding in five locations across four states after Hurricane Helene devastated parts of the Southeast – including western North Carolina, where their headquarters is located.
As noted on their website, they are providing relief in the mountains of Watauga County, North Carolina—home to Samaritan’s Purse international headquarters in the town of Boone. The town and surrounding communities have been particularly hard-hit with toppled trees, flooding, road damage, and a lack of power and water. This response extends to include neighboring counties in North Carolina (Ashe and Avery) and eastern Tennessee (Johnson).
Additional opportunities to provide relief to the western Counties: In-kind donations of clothing, pillows, and blankets will be collected starting Friday at Southern Pines Fire Station #2 off Route 22 across from the Airport. Until noon Friday, donations are being accepted at the Airport. According to Bud, they also happily accept assistance with loading and unloading!
For those in Pinehurst or vicinity, donations are also being collected at First Baptist Church of Pinehurst (on 211 across from Pinewild) – thank you to Bonnie for that information. Items accepted include bottled water, toilet paper, paper towels, diapers/wipes, hand sanitizer, contractor trash bags, first aid supplies, bleach, flashlights, batteries, shovels, brooms, and coolers.
Additional options are listed on our website and Facebook page. And of course, please continue to pray, both for those living and working in the affected area, and for those who are working to help them!
Faithfully,
Fr. Tom Harbold
