Relief effort helps people in North Carolina
Volunteers prepare to serve meals; 4,100 meals were served to hard-hit residents and workers in North Carolina.
When Jeff Ross of Goshen saw the devastation on television left by Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina, he wanted to help.
“When this was all going on, just like everybody else, I wanted to help them, but I’m too old to go down there and shovel mud out of houses or run a chainsaw all day,” Ross said.
Then he saw a video online showing how much prepared meals were appreciated and needed in the areas.
“I thought that’s something we can do,” Ross said.
Volunteer groups coming to the area were asked to serve 1,000 meals a day. Ross and his wife Heidi are the former owners of the Ross Mountain Barbecue food truck. He contacted the current owners, Eric and Michele Enold, and they were on board with the idea.
A plan came together quickly and was posted to social media.
“God lined everything up to make this happen,” Ross said. “So many people stepped up.”
Donations for the cost of food poured in. The food was prepared here and frozen for transportation to North Carolina. Volunteers, known as the Dream Team, prepared 1,200 pounds of pulled pork and 97 pans of macaroni and cheese. Also donated were 3,000 bags of potato chips and 4,000 homemade cookies. They took 3,000 sandwich buns and 400 hoagie buns. They also served hot chocolate and gave out free fuel.
The meals were free, and 4,100 were served. It was not just for the needy, but also for workers in the area who came to eat. A tip jar, for those who wished to leave them, collected extra donations to help those in the area.
Once the group traveled in early November to Swannanoa, North Carolina, the overwhelming damage was clear and with it the realization that an incredible amount of help is still needed. The local grocery store and area restaurants were flooded, with the grocery not expected to reopen until April 2025, making it difficult to obtain food. Drinking water is in short supply, and one hospital was having water trucked in daily to continue operating.
Ross was happy the trip resulted in greatly helping one resident directly.
“God orchestrated this whole thing,” Ross said. “There’s just no other way.”
The Dream Team volunteers took campers and motorhomes that they parked in the lot of the closed Ingles grocery store in Swannanoa. It was there that a man walked up to talk to them.
“He didn’t walk up with his hand out. He walked up because there was an old, dilapidated camper parked near where ours were parked,” Ross said. “He wanted to know if I knew anything about it, if it was for sale or if somebody brought it down there for somebody to use. We didn’t know anything about it, but it led me to ask why. He said, ‘My wife and I have been living in our car for five weeks. We lost everything we had.’”
Hurricane Helene hit the area on Sept. 27, washing away the couple’s home and truck. It was Nov. 4 when Ross and the man spoke. The man’s wife also used a wheelchair and was under twice weekly medical care. The couple received the tip money the group had collected that first day to move to a hotel for a couple of nights.
Ross immediately posted the couple’s need for a camper on social media, and a camper was donated to them about four hours later. Transport for the camper was arranged, and a local organization provided a parking spot. The couple moved from the hotel to the camper.
The team used some tip money for gas for a local woman who used her own car to deliver meals to the homebound. They donated $1,000 to another person who lost everything including his business, equipment and tools.
In the Swannanoa area, 25 people lost their lives. Stories of people losing everything were common, and many residents were still living in tents, which Ross said he saw everywhere.
The team also saw other volunteer groups helping in the area including an Amish group building tiny homes for those displaced and a group of retired Marines. All were privately funded.
The Dream Team has plans to return to North Carolina over Thanksgiving to serve traditional turkey dinners. After that, their mission changes. They will still collect donations and partner with another organization to provide campers. Social services have been in touch with the other organization because many families do not have a safe place to live. Children have had to be pulled from their families because of the conditions.
Tax-deductible donations to be put toward purchasing campers may be sent to the nonprofit organization Sports for Sound, 8011 Roswell Road, Sherrodsville, OH 44675.
“We are thankful to everyone for their support and all we were able to do because of them,” Heidi Ross said.