Volunteer to help with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene

OVERVIEW

HEY Y’ALL!

Are you a good person? (Or trying to be)

Me, Jackie, and Skylar will be doing a service trip to assist homeowners in Watauga County, NC affected by Hurricane Helene and will help with tree work, debris cleanup, roof tarping, and mud outs. We will be volunteering through the Samaritans Purse hurricane response project so keep in mind it is a religious organization (but of course you don’t have to be religious). There is no prior experience or skills necessary to volunteer and we will be instructed by a team lead from the organization.

https://spvolunteer.org/project-response/743

As for accommodations and what to bring per the Samaritans Purse website “Meals and sleeping quarters are provided for overnight volunteers. Volunteers need to bring twin size air mattress or cot, linens/sleeping bag, pillow, towels and personal hygiene items. Tools will be provided, and volunteers are welcome to bring their own tool belts and small hand tools. Volunteers should dress in long pants and sturdy boots.”

DISCLAIMER: We don’t know if they will accommodate dietary restrictions so we will be very redundant when packing food and water. This is also a service trip so you will get $7 for food. We also don’t know what the sleeping accommodations will look like exactly, hopefully, we will get more information on this after we register. Be prepared to be very fluid with planning on this trip.

Packing List:
Sleeping pad or twin sized air mattress if you have it
Sleeping bag
Pillow if you want
Headlamp/flashlight
water bottle
Something to eat out of/on
Layers and warm dry clothing (It gets chilly up in the mountains, pack accordingly)
Work Boots and long work pants
Rain Jacket (check the weather forecast)
Water
Food and snacks
A good attitude (peace and love)

WE WILL BRING:
First aid kit

We are aiming to get to Boone, NC by 8 PM on Friday at the latest, and the drive is around 5 hours so if you have a conflict please plan accordingly.
ITINERARY:

Fri 11/11:
10:00 am: The earliest cars will leave (for those lucky enough to not have class on Fridays)
2:00 pm: Cars will leave no later than 2 pm
8PM: arrive at our orientation location, Alliance Bible Fellowship, 1035 North Carolina HWY 105 Bypass, Boone, NC 28607.

Sat 11/12- Mon 11/14:
Due to the nature of disaster relief, our schedule must remain fluid. Please plan to work from 7:30 am until the work is done with possibly fewer hours on Sun 11/13.

Tues 11/15:
Leave by Noon and arrive back in Cville by 5-6 pm.

The reason for the relatively early cut off date is that we need a count of how many women and men (religious organization) are on the trip to sign up with the organization. with that said PLEASE ONLY SIGN UP IF YOU ARE WILLING TO COMMIT. The waitlist will be first come first serve with a priority for drivers until we have enough. Drivers, each vehicle is reimbursable up to $150 with a 50% tip, which is capped at $20 (per car), Looking at possibly getting the cap raised as it may not be enough.

I know this could be a lot being a service trip and all so we will also be trying to look for moments to have fun throughout the journey whenever we have downtime. If we don’t end up spending our $7 dollars we might be able to do a group dinner on the way back and reflect on all the good vibes and fun we had helping people!

If you have any questions please contact us:
Matthew Harmon- 507-429-0081
Jackie Stinger- 484-402-3156‬
Skylar Foley- 571-527-7531‬