Volunteers from Vineyard Christian Church in Rindge collected supplies on Friday Oct. 11, and Saturday, Oct. 12, for Hurricane Helene victims in North Carolina.
"They need water. They need baby formula. They need hands on deck."
Taylor Wilson listed some of the necessities Western North Carolina communities, like her home in Asheville, are desperate for in the wake of Hurricane Helene, which hit that state in late September. She grew up in Bedford, and after the storm struck, came to stay with her mom in Jaffrey.
"It's not just the materials, it's the fact that people care and are willing to support," she said, of the importance of efforts to help. As she spoke Saturday, she stood outside a warehouse in Jaffrey, beside a tractor trailer that a local nonprofit had worked with a Hancock church to fill with clothes, water and food bound for Western North Carolina.
Two Rindge residents are hauling the load to Lake Lure, N.C., a rural community about an hour southeast of Asheville.
Between Team Acts 20:35, the Jaffrey nonprofit dedicated to helping communities with natural-disaster recovery, and Vineyard Christian Church in Rindge, Monadnock Region residents have sent two tractor trailers worth of baby formula, toiletries, water and food, along with other goods, to North Carolina communities affected by Helene.
These are just some of the necessities that many people in the South have been deprived of since Hurricane Helene devastated the North Carolina mountain region, in addition to communities in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee, at the end of September. More than 200 people lost their lives to the storm, and 95 of them were from North Carolina, authorities said. A second storm, Hurricane Milton, followed on Helene's heels, causing extensive damage across Florida in early October.
Vineyard Church sent the first truckload for residents in Boone, N.C., on Saturday, Oct. 12. It arrived at a drop-off location near the town the following afternoon.
"My gosh, our community came out in full force ... I mean, it was wonderful," Traci Juntunen said. The Rindge resident has roots in South Carolina and has spent time in North Carolina. In 2005, while living in South Carolina, Juntunen spearheaded a similar collection for communities ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, and had family members do the same in New Hampshire.
"So I knew it was possible to do this in the little town of Rindge," she added.
Just a day after the truckload from Vineyard Church was delivered, the pieces of the Team Acts 20:35 plan were coming together. The organization's effort is a collaboration with Renew Church in Hancock. Team Acts 20:35's founder, Charlie Moore of Jaffrey, and his wife, Mariela, have been on the ground in Lake Lure, N.C., since early October helping with recovery efforts, according to Cathy Furze, a Jaffrey resident and volunteer with the nonprofit.
Furze and other volunteers organized the donation drive last week after Moore called her to explain that D.D. Bean, a match company in Jaffrey, had donated use of a truck indefinitely and Weidner Services was providing space to store donations. They just needed the supplies.
So Furze got to work, and less than a week later, volunteers had amassed donations. Two Rindge residents plan to deliver the goods to Lake Lure by Tuesday. And Team Acts 20:35 plans to do another trip once volunteers gather the supplies to refill the truck. Furze said they've already collected half another shipment's worth.
Those interested in donating items can message Team Acts 20:35 or Renew Church on Facebook.
Both Team Acts 20:35 and Vineyard Church recruited the Rindge Market Basket to help with their efforts. On Oct. 11, 12, 18 and 19, grocery carts at the front of the store were pre-filled with items and adorned with price tags. On Saturday, one marked $50 held diapers, wipes, bandages and menstrual hygiene products. Another that cost the same had boxes of Froot Loops, Frosted Flakes and a 12-pack of ramen. Customers could buy an entire pre-filled cart to donate to the cause.
Organizers of both efforts were effusive about how helpful the store was.
On Saturday, Wilson and her mom, Brandee Wilson, came out of the store with a cart full of supplies to donate.
Taylor Wilson is planning to head back to Asheville next week. Her house is OK, she said, and she just recently found out she has water again.
"For me, the biggest thing is ... that we're stronger together," she said.
She recalled the kindness of two neighbors after the storm. One cooked and served food to people. Another with a pool offered the water up to people so they had a way to flush their toilets.
"That's human nature," she said. "That's the power of community. It's not just Asheville ... I think we all have an opportunity to learn from this that we are stronger together."
Wilson, who is a transformational life coach, is considering starting a nonprofit with a small group of people.
"We're toying with the name, but right now, it's 'Rebirth Asheville,' and the intention is to receive donations and funding for healers -- so body workers, massage therapists, acupuncturists, trauma therapists, life coaches ... to pay these coaches to give free healings to people in the community," she explained.
"People need healing," Wilson said.
"That entire community is traumatized."
Taylor Wilson invites people to reach out to her on Instagram at @thetaylored_spirit if interested in nonprofit efforts and emotional support.