My heart goes out to all the victims of Hurricane Helene in every state: those who lost family, friends, homes, and communities in particular, and even those who are simply struggling with long-term power outages and road closures.
There are many relief organizations working to rescue people from inaccessible areas, feed and house people displaced by the storm, deliver badly needed supplies from medicine to food and water, repair damaged roads, find foster homes for displaced pets, and meet a score of other needs. Some are local organizations; many are national or international in scope.
The federal, state, and local governments are doing everything they can. But if you can help, please do. Charity Navigator has a list of verified organizations participating in relief efforts. It’s going to take a long time and a lot of effort to rebuild the homes, lives, and communities devastated by Hurricane Helene.
There’s one place in particular that I want to support as they work to rebuild. I have fond childhood memories of western North Carolina, one of the areas hardest hit by the hurricane’s torrential rains.
Camp Celo (North Carolina)
As a child in the early 1970s, I spent several wonderful summer sessions at Camp Celo, a small, family-run camp in the South Toe River valley of North Carolina. The camp and surrounding community were hit hard by Hurricane Helene. 29 inches of rain fell in the South Toe valley, and the camp is along the river. The water extremely high. Fortunately, the family and staff of the camp are all safe, as is everyone in their local community. But they are without power, water, or connectivity; the roads are completely washed out; and they are running low on diesel fuel for the generators that are keeping freezers and stoves going. The camp kitchen is currently feeding most of the local community. Many of the camp’s buildings were badly flooded, including the barn and woodshop pictured above and below. I suspect some buildings will have to be replaced.
The leader of the camp alumni group has set up a GoFundMe on their behalf, aimed at immediate relief efforts right now, and later toward assistance in restoring the camp. If you are looking for a way to help out a specific community, please consider a small gift to Camp Celo’s hurricane recovery GoFundMe. (And please let me know if you do.)
Edited to add: I just learned Saturday evening that the camp and community have received enough supplies for their immediate need, but they will still need help over the medium and long term. It’s not clear when the roads will be repaired, and the camp’s owners hope to clean up and rebuild as needed before the start of the 2025 season.
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