Locating & Praying for Loved Ones: Two congregation members are active in disaster relief through official emergency services: working in a call center, running a shelter. So far, former church members and family of church members living in western NC have been accounted for.
Stories of Hope:
A Good Samaritan brought in some kind of heavy equipment to haul rocks and make a bridge for Rev. Hefner’s parents and their neighbors. The fire department came through offering water. Hope to have a photo of the rock bridge someday.
Jefferson United Methodist Church of Jefferson, NC has a sizable building and parking lot, one of the few churches in the area with those amenities. They are providing food, water, showers, cell phone charging, and cleaning supplies.
Where Can I Get Information?
Try this Google doc developed by a Good Samaritan in western NC: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/1uMN-ERc4fzGC_IoAdbbMCbVw6xl04-CsXdJeEybcUCA/htmlview?pli=1#
How Can I Help?
Currently, the situation is “all hands on deck” with many agencies and individuals doing what they can. Because travel is so difficult and communications are spotty at best, it’s impossible to fully centralize the relief effort. So please feel free to donate to any organization that you trust, not just the ones mentioned here.
In-Kind Donations: take to Maple View Ice Cream, for Orange County Sheriff’s Department to load up and deliver through a network of county sheriffs. Supplies requested: please see photo.
Monetary Donations: Presbyterian Disaster Assistance at pda.pcusa.org, NC fund set up by the governor at nc.gov/donate, Montreat Conference Center at montreat.org
