MOREHEAD CITY — Venny Robinson of Mt. Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church in Newport loaded 56 large packs of water into a large tractor-trailer during a Hurricane Matthew relief supply drive Saturday at Lowe’s Home Improvement.
“We did it because we care,” he said as he assisted Carteret County Chamber of Commerce members unload his pickup truck. “The people are hurting.”
Wanda Eastep of Morehead City also dropped off a bag of supplies.
“I’ve lived here most of my life and we had people come here and help us in Floyd (Hurricane Floyd). We’ve got to help those in need,” she said.
The County Chamber of Commerce, churches and area businesses rallied Saturday to collect relief supplies for flood victims in Kinston and other Southeastern North Carolina counties that received record-setting flood waters as a result of the Category I hurricane dumping up to 15 inches of rain in Southeastern North Carolina Oct. 8-9.
Members of the chamber and county churches were on hand at Lowe’s Home Improvement to help load supplies into a large 18-wheeler trailer provided by Pro-Environmental Services of Morehead City.
Pro-Environmental Services will transport supplies today to a large distribution center in Kinston. The trailer will remain parked at the center until Monday, when members of the county chamber will assist members of the Kinston-Lenoir Chamber of Commerce unload the trailer and distribute supplies, according to Julie Naegelen, director of membership services with the Carteret County Chamber.
Another group of county businesses, led by Gale Swann with Swann Island Creative and her daughter Lila Simpson, collected relief supplies in the Kmart parking lot.
Ms. Simpson said last week, in partnership with Barefoot and Chandler Real Estate and other businesses, they loaded five large trailers with supplies and distributed them to Nash, Edgecombe, Green and Lenoir counties.
Ms. Simpson said there was such a need they decided to do one more collection drive Saturday.
She and Ms. Swann, as well as others who assisted, met many people who had lost everything, according to Ms. Simpson.
“We met one family who was living out of their car and had nothing,” said Ms. Simpson. “We were able to give them three cases of water, food, diapers and coloring activities for the children.”
One family from Yadkin County took time from a vacation in Atlantic Beach to drop off supplies at the Kmart drive.
“We saw the sign and we had been wanting to do something so we stopped and bought some things to help,” said the family’s mother, Sara Carter. “I feel so sorry for those people. They’ve lost everything.”
As for the county chamber collection drive, Ms. Naegelen organized large plastic bins, which were labeled with the various types of supplies by category, such as canned goods, hygiene products and so on.
“The Kinston Chamber went through Floyd, so they said they learned from that experience it was helpful to have items sorted,” she said. “They had asked us to wait until people got back in their homes and could assess the damage and know better what their needs were.”
Many individuals, as well as businesses and churches, brought truckloads of supplies, such as water, baby supplies and pet food.
For those unable to come Saturday, here is a list of other relief efforts underway in the county:
•Second Blessings Outreach Ministries in Morehead City is collecting the following items for flood victims 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday: bottled water, cleaning supplies, nonperishable food, pet food and supplies, hygiene items, feminine products, baby supplies, diapers and more.
•The Carteret County Humane Society in Newport is collecting pet supplies for shelters in Edgecombe and Robeson counties. Items needed include pet crates, bottled water, cat litter, dry cat and kitten food, dry dog and puppy food, and monetary donations. Items can also be dropped off at C-Co Mini-Mart in Newport and Sea Tow in Morehead City.
•North Carolina Compassion is collecting supplies at Beaufort Elementary School, Dollar General, Pittman’s Garage and Ace Marine, all in Beaufort, and Sanborn Orthodontics in Morehead City. Items needed are water, soap, paper towels, toilet paper, cleaning products, deodorant, toothbrushes and toothpaste.
•The Journey Church in Havelock is accepting donations for Lumberton and Greenville. Drop-off locations are Highway 55 Restaurant in Morehead City and Havelock Middle School. Items needed include undergarments, toothpaste, toothbrushes, wet wipes, feminine hygiene products, nonperishable food and baby formula.
•United Way of Coastal Carolina has created the United Way Hurricane Matthew Recovery Fund. Contributions to this fund will be used by United Way of Coastal Carolina to address the near-term and long-term recovery needs of communities most affected by the hurricane. A $10 donation can be made by texting the word GIVE to 252-843-1000.
•Donate to the N.C. Disaster Relief Fund by texting NCRECOVERS to 30306 or online at http://ift.tt/2eGNAdt or send a check or money order to the N.C. Disaster Relief Fund, Office of the Governor, 20312 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699. This fund has been set up since 1999 to support survivors of disasters that occur in North Carolina.
•Monetary donations to recognize North Carolina relief organizations can be found at NCVoad.org, a fast, flexible and effective method of assisting those who are in need.
•The Salvation Army in Morehead City is accepting cleaning supplies and other items that will be distributed to The Salvation Army in affected areas. For storage considerations, Lt. Roland Lewis said he prefers monetary donations, with checks made out to The Salvation Army, with a note in the memo line that it’s for hurricane relief.
•Many schools are participating in relief efforts, and residents are encouraged to check with individual schools for ways to help.
•Residents are encouraged to check with their churches for any individual relief efforts.
•Donate to the N.C. Community Foundation, which supports nonprofits that help hurricane and flood victims. Donations can be made online through the NCCF website via the “Give Now” button or under the “Giving” tab at nccommunityfoundation.org or by downloading a contribution form from the site and mailing or faxing it to NCCF offices. The fax number is 919-827-0749. The form or checks can be mailed to NCCF at 3737 Glenwood Ave., Suite 460, Raleigh, N.C. 27612. Designate your gift for “Hurricane Matthew Disaster Relief.” All gifts are tax-deductible.
•Graham and Randles Chiropractic, Suite D, 601 Cedar St., Beaufort, is collecting items through Friday. They are accepting nonperishable food, manual can openers, toiletries, diapers, wipes and powdered baby formula.
Contact Cheryl Burke at 252-726-7081, ext. 255; email Cheryl@thenewstimes.com; or follow on Twitter @cherylccnt.
