In the wake of the devastation left by September 2024 Hurricane Helene, communities from all over the US and North America quickly responded to requests for aid. Carroll County and its residents reacted no differently when it became apparent that fellow Americans were, and still are, in need. Five Carroll locals, Sharon Ferguson, Cade Marlow, Tyra Lusk, Brady Jordan, and Blake Newsome stepped up to the challenge. In November of 2024, these five locals led a mission trip to North Carolina to assist where they could in the cleanup of the wreckage.
“I had a compelling desire to go to North Carolina to help these people, because FEMA - no-one - was helping them. So it was people coming from all over the United States to help them,” Ferguson explained her reasoning for the trip. “So I thought, why can’t we get a group together and go help them.”
She explained that prior to the trip, an Amazon donation page was formed. This page allowed for anyone willing to support the cause to donate money or supplies for the trip.
“So we left with over four thousand dollars worth of supplies like cots, heaters, blankets, food supplies, medicines, all kinds of stuff,” Ferguson stated.
Marlow explained that these supplies were taken to a distribution center in the affected zone, where members of the community would be able to get whatever supplies they may have needed. He also stated that for individuals who did not have the means to come to the center and get supplies, there were volunteers who would deliver supplies to those in need.
Ferguson went on to describe the first assessment of the situation upon arrival, stating, “The devastation… the news does nothing - you just see one little picture. When you’re there, you see it three hundred and sixty degrees, all the way around you.”
Upon arrival, the group quickly got to work where they were needed.
“We helped build homes back that were totally gutted out. We put floors in, set walls, and electrical wiring,” Ferguson explained.
“Some of the things we did while we were there were we helped rebuild parts of a family’s home,” Marlow added. He continued, “We did what was referred to in the local area as scouting, which is just going out and making contact with families there that are in the community in the mountains. Just basically did an [informal] health and wellness check in a sense.” Marlow expanded on the topic.
“Everybody that you offer to help there is very humble and appreciative,” Ferguson stated. She explained that in the time there, those they helped were conscious of what they asked from volunteers, ensuring to leave enough aid and supplies for others in need.
At some point in their trip, Ferguson explained, the group got lost while looking for someone they were to deliver food to and ended up at a church in Ramseytown North Carolina named Byrds Chapel. The group quickly became friends with the Pastor of the church, Ron Buchanan. Ferguson explained that this church would be the headquarters for their next mission trip.
“People have no clue what there is to be done there. It won’t be done in a week or a month. It’s gonna take years for these people to come back. Not only have they lost their homes, but they’ve lost their belongings. Most of them down to their drivers license,” Ferguson stated.
The next Mission Trip to North Carolina is planned for February 12, 2025. Volunteers are needed and welcome to assist in any way possible.
“There’s something for everybody to do. You can donate money. You can donate a listening ear.” Ferguson explained, “We can set you up to talk with a particular person once a week just to listen to them to see how they’re doing. There are people that have spoken with victims there that have helped them get their driver’s license, get their social security cards back, find a place to live.”
She explained that a wide variety of needs call for a wide range of responses from volunteers. Not only could volunteers donate money or supplies for the trip, but they could also donate their time to survivors, and lend their ears to those in need of a friend. In many cases, those involved in the disaster are craving fresh food.
“They crave things, like they want salad. They want lettuce and tomato. They want simple fresh food. They’ve eaten out of cans for so long,” Ferguson stated.
“So to go with a fresh delivery of food, if you didn’t know what you could do, if you could load up two SUVs with eggs and vegetables and fruits. Maybe this summer people could do that,” she added.
Ferguson explained the importance of helping fellow Americans in need when possible.
“This is about God. This is serving God. This, to me, is what we are to do day in and day out, hour to hour,” Ferguson stated her reasoning for the Mission Trip.
She went on to say, “So I’m serving the Lord by taking those fellow Christians with me. We’re spreading the love of Jesus there. And a lot of people have seen the light after they were hanging by roots on the side of a mountain with water nipping at the back of their pants.”
On the topic of the February 12, 2025, Mission Trip, Marlow shared what he expects from the event.
“I believe the plan is to go back to that community around Ramseytown, because they said they had the least amount of assistance with their recovery efforts,” Marlow stated.
“So our plan, to my knowledge, is to go back there and meet up with our friends from South Carolina and we’re going to cook and serve meals one day. We’ll probably take supplies and deliver supplies from a small distribution hub right there at that church. We’ll take supplies from there out into the mountains, into the community to the houses up in the mountains,” Marlow added.
“More than anything else we’ll just honestly go and be there and be able to serve in any capacity. Simple things like praying with people. Some of the people that are of the praying kind would just ask for people to pray for them and it just meant the world to them that they hadn’t, in their eyes, been forgotten about,” Marlow finished.
