Local Volunteers Come to the Aid of Hurricane Victims

With the recent devastation caused by hurricanes in North Carolina and Florida, local congregations from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints volunteered to help with relief efforts. Wearing yellow t-shirts emblazoned with “Helping Hands,” men, women and teens drove to the areas effected by the storms and helped citizens in Wilmington, North Carolina and Panama City, Florida remove downed trees, clear debris, and repair roofs.

Matthew Pennington, the president of the Coal Mountain Stake (an area of several congregations in Cumming, Dahlonega and Murphy, NC) stated, “We sent 140 volunteers to Wilmington on the weekend of October 12th. We sent another 175 volunteers to Panama City on October 17th. We report again to Panama City this weekend and the weekend of November 16th.”

The volunteers are well-equipped and experienced. The initial work orders are to assist the elderly, disabled, and the homebound. The emphasis in Panama City was to provide relief to the First Responders who have had very little time to address their own needs.

Throughout Georgia, over 3,300 Latter-day Saint volunteers traveled to the Florida Panhandle during the weekend of October 20th. They worked a total of 56,531 hours, filled 1,661 work orders and repaired or tarped over 400 roofs.

Volunteers are responsible for their own travel, food, water, and shelter. They try not to burden the already limited resources while in the impacted areas. Local chapels of the Church are designated as command centers where volunteers received work orders.

Pam Mason of Panama City, Florida wrote, “Thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts for all of your hard work and generosity and kindness you showed my family! We were lost and didn't know where to turn and then God sent you! I hope we can pay it forward and help somebody in the way that you have helped our family and shown such wonderful Christian generosity and Goodwill!

I want to give a huge shout-out to the Fowler Park Ward service and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for all of the work they did today on my house and yard! They cut down huge oak trees and huge pine trees and got up on roofs and got the trees off of my house and off of my shed and climbed on top of roofs and even blue tarp to my shed which I did not know had holes all in the top and just worked from dawn to dusk was never a complaint or anything and they work themselves to the bone. It was hot hot hot out there! I do not know how they held up so well and did so much but I am so grateful from the bottom of my heart you have helped my family and made a difference in our lives and I want to thank you! God bless again and I'm so happy to have met you.”

Kim Simpson of Cumming, “The Sharon Springs Ward was well represented (with 31 volunteers). With such a large group we were able to fill around 14 work orders, and even stopped to help clean one yard covered in trees that did not have a work order. We were blessed beyond blessed to help the people of Panama City.”

There is still time to join the local Latter-day Saints in the relief efforts in Florida. The yellow t-shirts are free. The work is hard. The blessings of helping those in need, lasts a lifetime. Contact coordinators at LDSHelpingHandsForsyth@gmail.com.