Upstate family collecting, shipping donations to Helene victims in Western NC

SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – One Upstate family has made it their mission to send as many supplies as they can to Helene victims in Western North Carolina.

Eric and Jeni Gilbert own the Window Depot in Wellford, and converted their business into a donation site, collecting a range of supplies to send to those who need it most.

“A lot of blankets, a lot of jackets, a lot of clothes, a lot of food, canned food, water – you name it,” Eric said.

The Gilberts told 7NEWS that Helene’s destruction hit their home in Anderson County on September 27th. They said the storm caused their neighbor’s trees to fall on their house, and water rushed in afterward.

“We were in our living room when the first tree hit our house,” Eric said. “It was kind of scary obviously, so we went into the kitchen, ’cause that’s more in the middle of our house, and then another two trees came down and took out our decks. It was bad.”

Shortly after the terrifying ordeal, the couple converted the showroom inside their Window Depot business into a donation hub. They also teamed up with helicopter pilots and first responders to get supplies out.

“Those guys are the really truly heroes. Non-stop. Non-stop flights for the entire first week getting out to the really remote areas and the people that really, really needed it,” Eric also said.

The Gilberts credit the support of their staff members, families, church congregations and others across state lines in keeping their efforts to serve Helene victims at full throttle.

“We jumped on Facebook, did a post, and we got hundreds of responses, and people were just coming in and out all weekend,” Eric added. “That’s been the biggest reward.”

It’s fueled a mission the Upstate family said they’ll continue for as long as the need does.

“It’s just good to meet all the people who feel the same way emotionally that we do, and bring in things from around their house, or their groups, or churches. And, just that they care to help everybody out, Jeni said.

The Gilberts said their focus now is collecting items like generators, heaters and livestock supplies to help care for those who live on farms in Western North Carolina.

“Now we can get up the rocks, so now I think we’re going to start taking things up there ourselves too,” Eric went on to say.

The Gilberts are accepting donations at Window Depot from Monday through Friday between 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and also on the weekends by appointment.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.