It is easy to see selfishness everywhere, even under the best of circumstances, but when people are suffering and in need, community members often show generosity.
It’s not just guilt or phoniness, either, but something built into the human race. Evolutionary psychologists explain that when you help someone in need, your body releases hormones like serotonin that boost your mood.
The old adage that “we are all in this together” is based on scientific evidence, and it was never more obvious than in the wake of destructive Hurricane Helene. Dozens of individuals and organizations in Lake Country decided to get involved without being asked to help their neighbors across the southeastern United States who had lost so much.
Bonnie Martinez, who operates Bonnie’s Coffee Shop and More in downtown Greensboro, sprung into action after the public began to hear about how bad the storm damage was in some areas near Lake Country.
“When we saw the hurricane heading toward us, I was already panicking and trying to prepare for my own family,” Martinez said. “[After] it shifted and went closer to Augusta and Tennessee and North Carolina, we saw how bad it impacted everybody and how they lost everything. Homes were washed away. They had no clothes, nothing to bathe with, or food.
“I woke up at four in the morning the third day [after the hurricane]. I could not sleep knowing I had my power back on. I still had my water, my family was okay, and thousands of people were not. I just felt like I was being pulled to do more. I’m going use every resource that I possibly can.”
Martinez went to Thomson on Sunday and found many homes and businesses still without power or water.
Almost 100 children who live at or below the poverty level in McDuffie County have been eating breakfast and lunch at school, but since the schools have been closed in the wake of the hurricane, they haven’t been getting those meals.
“We fed over 100 families on Sunday, and we’re not through helping yet,” Martinez said. “This Sunday, we’re going to get as close to Maggie Valley, North Carolina, as we can get. I’m contacting different communities to see where and what help is needed. Wherever we need to go, we’ll go for as long as we can.”
An upcoming shift to cooler fall weather makes the situation even more urgent for those in the mountains.
“People in the mountains need blankets, sleeping bags, hand warmers, and gloves. Some of them are sleeping in tents right now. A lady reached out to me through social media and said that they were able to clear several areas for people to sleep under trees, and that broke my heart knowing that people are sleeping outside and we all still have our home.”
Knowing that the hurricane came so close to unleashing its devastation on Lake Country has paused Martinez.
“That could have been me and my family, so I’m going to do everything I possibly can to help these people,” Martinez said.
Donations can be dropped off at the 110 N. Main St. coffee shop in Greensboro.
Not surprisingly, churches were at the forefront of many efforts to get relief and help where it was needed, including Centennial Baptist Church and Philadelphia Baptist Church in Rutledge, Madison First United Methodist Church, Covenant Park Church, Fusion Church, Redeemer Church of Madison, and many more.
The Lake Oconee Builders Association teamed up with the Home Builders Association of the Greater Aiken-Augusta Region to bring supplies to Warren Church to assist that community.
Garrett Wilson and Lake Oconee Academy parents teamed with several community partners, including the Ritz Carlton in Reynolds, to send loaded trailers to the mountain areas.
The Greensboro Police Department served as a donation hub, and on Oct. 8, Corporal Ray Harris traveled to Augusta with items collected.
Greensboro’s Assistant Police Chief Tommy Nelson said the devastation in Augusta and Louisville was so severe that the GPD pitched in.
“The people there have no power or water,” Nelson said. “It’s a mess, and they definitely need some help.”
TJ Bishop’s Men’s Shop in downtown Madison also delivered two truckloads of new men’s and women’s apparel items to the North Carolina mountains.
The Lake Oconee Humane Society also jumped in to help pets; they delivered a truckload of pet food donations to hurricane-impacted animal shelters in Augusta and Thomson. Resident Victoria Crawford collected pet food donations, with donation hubs at Durham Veterinary Clinic and the Greene County Animal Control facility.
The Morgan County Ag Center also offered to host displaced individuals who need somewhere to call home until the situation stabilizes, which may be several weeks in some cases.
Lake Country’s students are also pitching in.
According to Putnam County High School’s Facebook page, the student government council recently collected nearly 100 cases of essential items. Gatewood and Lakepoint Community Church delivered donations and lunch to hard-hit Thomas Jefferson Academy in Jefferson County.
Representatives of Youth Leadership Greene also chose hurricane relief efforts for their service projects this year. They discussed those projects at Tuesday's Greene County Chamber of Commerce’s annual awards banquet.
“When we returned to school after Hurricane Helene passed through our area, Lake Oconee Academy opened up the option of making relief efforts to all student organizations,” LOA student Abbey Meyers said. “Youth Leadership Greene, Beta Club, and varsity softball were the first to begin the effort. We collected items and reminded the LOA community to send donations throughout the week. We chose Washington-Wilkes High School as the recipient of our donations.
“One of three pillars of LOA is being an engaged community, and we wanted to reach out to our neighbors in their time of need. Members of the Washington-Silkes community were extremely grateful, and we were excited to get the items into the hands of those who needed them. We appreciate the efforts of the Greene County Chamber of Commerce to promote our efforts . . . it would not have been possible without your help.”
According to Arissa Robinson of Greene County High School, the support of students, staff, career coaches, and many community members enabled the school to send more than 200 backpacks filled with supplies to hurricane-impacted areas in neighboring counties.
“We are continuing to collect supplies and donations, with some of these items earmarked for North Carolina,” Robinson said. “Long-term, we know that there will still be a need to help re-supply food banks in the areas that were hit.”
Mitchell Copeland and the Morgan County Quarterback Club also delivered cases of water to Warren County following the storm.