BURNSVILLE, N.C. — The call to action continues for western North Carolina, with several people and even organizations stepping up after Hurricane Helene.
The help is needed in several areas including Mitchell and Yancey counties. Some of those efforts include a raising money and setting up a distribution site for locals.
Mountain Strong is an organization that has stepped in to help its community.
“I don't want those people to feel like they are forgotten, that there is help coming," Charity Honeycutt, one of the organizers, said.
Honeycutt and her high school friends saw firsthand the damage done by Helene. They didn’t want their community in Burnsville to feel left out with recovery efforts, so they started the organization.
“Those first initial funds, those were to help get generators, baby supplies," Honeycutt explained. "We actually brought in a ton of medical supplies and just general, 'Hey, these are our immediate needs' before the government was able to kind of step in," she added.
The group started as a GoFundMe collecting funds to help hard-hit areas. The outpouring of support grew quickly.
"We were like, let's just get $5,000, give back to the community," Honeycutt said. "Things escalated very quickly. I was also like, OK, let's just hit 50. And then, as of Monday, we were an official nonprofit.”
Since starting, the group has raised more than $100,000 which is geared to uplift a community that’s given people like Honeycutt so much.
“The definition of love thy neighbor, I've never seen it," Honeycutt said. "I felt like our community was always really good at it. They have far exceeded my expectation, and and it's just a really special place. The people are the most genuine people, and we're so excited just to give back to the community that gave us so much."
The group's next steps include partnering with small businesses in the area and helping those who lost a home find a new one.
Contact Myles Harris at mharris5@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.