Helping Those Impacted by Hurricane Florence

by Heather Daniel Brower,(class of 1987) and daughter of 2nd grade teacher, Margaret Daniel

 

In early September, our family learned of the approaching hurricane, Florence. We began preparing our home and family for its impact. We shopped for non-perishable food and the rest of our "hurricane list." My family planned to weather the storm at my sister's home in Newport, North Carolina, which is inland from our home on one of North Carolina's barrier islands. We thought we'd ride it out and then return to our Emerald Isle home post-hurricane. The forecast for the track and speed of Florence quickly changed, however. We realized my sister, Hunter, and her family were going to need to evacuate, too. The rest of that day was organized chaos. Having to look into the eyes of my children and tell them to pack whatever items they held most dear was hard. We finished our packing and proceeded to wedge it all into our car. The next morning, we met my sister and niece to travel to Virginia to weather the storm.

 

Arriving in Lynchburg and feeling my dad's welcoming embrace brought me so much relief. Hunter, the kids, and I unpacked only what we needed immediately and settled our things. There was a physical heaviness on my heart and body that I couldn't shake as I thought of my husband, who was traveling for work, and my brother-in-law, who had stayed home in Newton (NC) because of his work and to finish preparing their house for the hurricane. Later, after my mom arrived home from work, my sister and I contacted our spouses. We all determined we'd weather the storm with our faith and as much "normal" as we could create.

 

Florence hit our community in NC as a category 1 hurricane, instead of a cat-4. Nonetheless, our community has been devastated by the storm and its ensuing flooding. Our family felt overwhelmed by helplessness. We had seen pictures, received texts, and watched the news. Our beautiful beach community and the more inland towns, like Newton, had been wrecked by Florence. I kept thinking and praying, "How can I help my community?" I didn't get the immediate answer that I wanted, but a week later I came to understand what I could do to help.

 

As you might imagine, it was hard to wait for the roads to reopen. I was finally able to make a quick trip home. Though our home was not livable then, it soon will be thanks to the the gift of neighbor helping neighbor. The damage our home sustained was nothing compared to what others in the community experienced. And yet, the community spirit is alive in a way I've never seen it.

 

I wanted my family and my alma mater to have the opportunity to be a part of that. Our family led an effort here in Lynchburg to help supply the fire and rescue personnel in NC with clean-up materials. Through research online and asking those departments what was most needed, we came up with a list of supplies.

 

With your help, we gathered as much as we could and delivered those much-needed supplies to the fire and rescue departments of Carteret County, NC. The departments has distributed these to those who needed help with clean up. We, the Daniel/Brower/Jones Family, and the families of Carteret Country are so deeply grateful for your assistance.