Area quick to respond with aid for Hurricane Helene victims

A number of area churches, businesses and organizations have put together relief projects for victims of Hurricane Helene, which devastated the Southeast and has left at least 200 people dead .

Here are a couple projects that are making a small impact, as much more assistance is needed.

More: Reporting from Asheville, North Carolina, on aftereffects of Helene

Sam Yoder, owner of Berlin Gardens, has a number of work crews heading to North Carolina to lend a hand in hurricane relief. Berlin Gardens works with an organization out of Pennsylvania called Plain Compassion Emergency Response .

"The situation down there is way worse than people realize," Yoder said. "We are doing everything we can to help."

They have set up a shipping dock to send out supplies from their plant in Berlin as well. As of Friday, they were working on filling their fifth semi-truck load.

"Thank you to everyone for continuing to donate items," Yoder said. "Beechy Trucking is heading out (Friday) morning with a fourth semi load. They are also donating all their time and fuel to run these trucks."

Monroe Mast, logistics manager at Berlin Gardens, said he had hoped they would be able to fill at least one semi trailer.

"I thought, surely we could fill at least one truck," Mast said. "But five! That is amazing. The people around here are so amazing and willing to help."

Yoder pointed out that this relief effort is not about Berlin Gardens, but "about using the resources that God has blessed us with, and blessing others with it."

"Shout out to our Berlin Gardens work crew in Asheville, NC, after a day's work, and no showers available. They have been sleeping in the back of a trailer. You guys are amazing," Yoder posted on Facebook.

The workers at Berlin Gardens are given paid time off to assist in relief on top of their vacation time to take part in missions work such as this, according to Yoder.

The trucks unload at Foothills Community Church in Columbus, NC, where smaller trucks deliver them to hard-hit areas. Helicopters are also delivering supplies to mountain areas where vehicles can't yet get to.

Another source of assistance is Helenereliefohio.com .

Ohio electric cooperatives send aid to hurricane victims

Electric cooperatives across Ohio are providing mutual aid to fellow co-ops in the state, and in North Carolina and South Carolina following the damage and power outages caused by Hurricane Helene across the Southeast and Midwest.

Line crews and trucks began assisting Ohio cooperatives this week after damaging winds caused power outages across the southern part of the state.

On Saturday, utility line worker volunteers from Ohio cooperatives began their trek to assist electric cooperatives in the Carolinas. Thousands remain without power in Ohio and the Carolinas, and safe restoration work is underway.

Mutual aid is common practice for Ohio’s electric cooperatives. The co-ops help each other in the form of utility line workers, bucket, and digger trucks, whenever the call for help comes in. Ohio cooperatives helping in the Carolinas include Butler, Carroll, Consolidated, the Energy Coop, Firelands, Frontier, Guernsey-Muskingum, Hancock-Wood, Holmes-Wayne, Logan, Mid-Ohio, Midwest, Northwestern and Pioneer.

Holmes-Wayne Electric Cooperative CEO Glen Miller HWEC is happy to help out whenever they can.

"We have a great team," Miller said. "We are happy to assist in this process. I know we appreciate help when we need it, so we are always happy to help when we can."

Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives is the statewide association representing Ohio’s (one in West Virginia ) 25 electric cooperatives, which serve a million cooperative members across 77 of Ohio’s 88 counties. Electric cooperatives in Ohio are not-for-profit distribution cooperatives, providing reliable, affordable and environmentally responsible electricity to the communities they serve.

The Carolina cooperatives receiving mutual aid are Laurens EC in Laurens, S.C. (Holmes-Wayne, Consolidated, Hancock-Wood, North Western); Energy United in Statesville, N.C. (Midwest, Firelands, Logan and Carroll); and Broad River EC in Cowpens, S.C. (Pioneer, Butler, GMEC, Frontier, The Energy Co-op).

More: Want to help those affected by Hurricane Helene? You can donate to these groups

Mariana Project honors memory of Mariana Hoxworth

The Mariana Project, a collection of Hurricane Helene relief supplies for victims in Eastern Tennessee, was scheduled for Saturday at Jitters parking lot.

Items requested were toiletries, walkers and canes; baby formula and diapers; ready-to-eat nonperishable foods such as peanut butter, fruit cups and canned meats; as well as protein bars, pet food and paper towels.

Jon and Cassie Mast donated the truck and driver for the delivery.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Area quick to respond with aid for Hurricane Helene victims