By Kathy Miller - This past September, Tropical Storm Helene caused historic flooding and devastated communities in several states. In western North Carolina, twenty to thirty inches of rain fell across the Black Mountains. All the rain rushed off the mountains into the low-lying gorge towns, which had already received more than a foot of rain a few days earlier. The remnants of Helene destroyed or damaged over 126,000 homes in the area, impacting over 200,000 residents.
In October, Huey and Bobbie Rodeheaver from Augusta felt they needed to do their part to assist the victims of Tropical Storm Helene. They had visited the affected area during the summer and were shocked by the devastation reported in the news.
It began with Bobbie and Huey donating chainsaws, then creating a flyer that was distributed to local businesses to fill one trailer with donations, which spread to many residents jumping in to donate. The Rodeheavers were not completely sure how this event would be accomplished. As the donations came in by the truckloads, they knew this was absolutely the right thing to do.
The Rodeheaver’s asked for help from the Elk’s Lodge #2662 in Warrenton and the New Melle VFW Post #5651. These two organizations were crucial in spreading the word on social media and collecting many of the donated items.
Bobbie mentioned that in no time, she was filling her pick-up with donations every day, with more being dropped off at their home faster than they could keep up. Many businesses contributed large quantities of essential items. They were genuinely amazed, but not surprised, by the community's generosity and soon realized that one trailer would not be enough to hold everything.
Bobbie wanted to ensure that the donations would be delivered directly to the victims. After searching for a reliable organization to help distribute the items in North Carolina, Bobbie found a local church, St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, in Conover, NC.
Our generous community donated enough items to fill three- 24’ box trailers, one 16’ box trailer and one 35’ flatbed trailer with supplies, including chain saws, cleaning supplies, hygiene products, clothing, diapers, water, formula, canned goods and many other essential items. Cash donations and gift cards totaling $6,600 were also collected. Five Warrenton Elks Lodge #2662 members graciously donated their time to make the 1,750-mile round trip to deliver the supplies. These donations have improved the lives of many.
Huey and Bobbie would like to express their heartfelt gratitude to everyone who donated or contributed in any way to make this mission possible. If you would still like to help, St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Conover will accept donations for the foreseeable future. All contributions will go directly to the victims of Helene in that area. For more information and to donate, please visit stpetersconover.org/relief.
Click here to view the enclosed flyer for Huey and Bobbie’s thank you message to the community!
