BOONE, N.C. — Doc Hendley has seen it all.
“I've responded to disasters all over the world. I've seen some of the worst disasters in the last 20 years, from typhoons in the Philippines to frontlines in the warzone areas to earthquakes in Haiti and things like that," Hendley said.
In 2004, Hendley founded Wine to Water, a nonprofit based in Boone that works to bring clean water to places in crisis all over the world.
But seeing a disaster like this at home is different.
"This is such a difficult and unfortunate disaster for our area," Hendley said. "It's not going to be something we can bounce back from quickly."
Like any disaster, they were prepared for Helene, setting up in Georgia ahead of the storm. However, once his family in Boone got service to call him, they immediately headed back up to North Carolina.
"You kind of get used to going to other places to respond, and you can kind of try to shut down and just do your job," Hendley said. "When it’s in your own backyard, with your own friends, and your own family that are suffering, it’s a different thing.”
Though their warehouse is in Boone, Wine to Water has set up checkpoints throughout the affected area in the mountains. From there, volunteers take supplies to the hard-to-reach areas on ATVs.
As they move into long-term cleanup, Hendley said the goal is to make relief sustainable.
"We may not need as many diapers and wipes and canned food in the next few weeks," Hendley said "We're going to need strong backs and people willing to come up and help continue to clean the mess up up here and people with equipment."
He says what they need most is generators. You can bring them to their warehouse at 698 George Wilson Road in Boone, NC.
An anonymous donor has agreed to match every donation up to half a million dollars. You can contribute here.