AVERY COUNTY, N.C. — WCNC Charlotte is continuing to help make an impact for Helene victims as the cold weather months set in.
For the past couple of weeks, WCNC Charlotte has run the Share the Warmth campaign to collect warm winter clothing and other key needs. On Friday, our team made another big donation drop-off for families in Avery County.
“Our team has spent hundreds of hours opening, sorting, bagging. And then we’ve had great partners in the community provide trucks,” said Joan Barrett, WCNC Charlotte’s general manager.
Volunteers and staff members loaded up a truck from Queen City Audio Video & Appliances before making the trip to Avery County. Thousands of meals and cold-weather items were dropped off at the Feeding Avery Families facility in Newland.
“What we are able to do is serve people with different needs. So, if you don’t have power or water, we can definitely feed you. we have the food for it. if you’re cooking off a camp griddle, sometimes we’ll have the propane tanks to help those,” explained Sally Loftis, Feeding Avery Families executive director.
The organization helps families like Yamileth Ramirez’s get back on their feet after Helene devastated the area.
“Everything that we’ve had, we've gotten a little bit of. Produce, dry goods, bread, diapers, wipes, cleaning supplies, water, everything and more,” Ramirez said through a translator.
This was WCNC Charlotte's second big drop at Feeding Avery Families this week.
“Typically, we serve about 500 families in a month, and we have distributed about 2,500 boxes of food in the last month. So, one box typically feeds about two people,” Loftis said.
WCNC Charlotte, along with our viewers, have answered the call to help our neighbors in need. As part of the Share the Warmth campaign, we collected hats, gloves, sleeping bags, coats, blankets and more for people living in some of the hardest-hit areas.
“The response by this community to the folks in need in western North Carolina has been overwhelming,” said Barrett.
Contact Nick Sturdivant at nsturdiva1@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.