How you can help victims of Hurricane Helene

I’ve been glued to social media the past few days looking at the destruction and heartbreak wrought by Hurricane Helene in our state and North Carolina. I’m sure many of you have too.

I am from Travelers Rest. The Blue Ridge Mountains have always been my mountains. As a kid, I knew that when we got to Asheville, Hendersonville, and the Blue Ridge after a long roadtrip, we were almost home. Some falls in high school, I drove up highway 25 and I-26 into Hendersonville, Brevard, and Flat Rock nearly every week.

The destruction and loss in those areas is devastating. And across the state of South Carolina, families are hurting as fallen trees and flooding have destroyed houses and cars and taken 23+ lives. Governor McMaster said in a briefing earlier this week that power outages caused by Helene are the most South Carolina has ever had.

For those of you who are not dealing with power outages, downed trees, and destroyed cars and houses, I’m sure you are in the same boat as I am—wondering what in the world you can do to help.

Here are some ways you can contribute to recovery efforts in the Upstate and Western North Carolina.

1. Donate blood – More than ever, hospitals in the affected areas need to have replenished supplies of blood. These donations can be live-saving for people affected by the hurricane. Schedule a donation appointment here.
2. Contribute financially – You can contribute to recovery efforts by donated to a trusted organization working on the ground with recovery. Consider giving to the Red Cross, the United Way, the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund, Catholic Charities USA, Feeding the Carolinas, Harvest Hope Food Bank, the Salvation Army, or Samaritan’s Purse.
3. Help your community – Help your community clear branches and debris (but be careful of downed power lines!), check on your elderly neighbors, and volunteer with organizations like local churches and nonprofits. You can also help those with storm damage document their losses and apply for disaster assistance from FEMA at disasterassistance.gov.
4. Drop off some food – Harvest Hope Food Bank is collecting donations at their branches in Greenville, Columbia, and Florence to distribute to hurricane victims. They are particularly looking for Microwavable Pop-Top Meals, Microwavable Pop-Top Cans of Soup, Pop-Top Canned Goods (vegetables, beans), Canned or Pouch Proteins Packed in Water (tuna, chicken), and Snack Items (granola bars, peanut butter, crackers). Learn more here. Operation AirDrop is flying in food supplies to Western North Carolina and are collecting supplies to distribute. Learn about their efforts here.
5. Pray – Keep these communities in your prayers in the coming weeks. Recovery from such a once-in-a-lifetime disaster is going to take a long time. Entire towns are wiped off the map, and many families have lost everything.

We will keep this list updated as we hear of more ways the public can support recovery efforts.

Our hearts and prayers are with hurricane victims.

Palmetto Promise Institute does not endorse any particular disaster relief organizations. We are simply sharing information about groups that are collecting donations as a public service. For the most up to date information on Helene recovery in South Carolina, visit scemd.org.

Photo credit to the City of Greenville on Facebook.