ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — Community members in St. Johns County and beyond are stepping up and doing their part to help those in need in North Carolina. Hurricane Helene devastated the western corner of that state, many have no food or water.
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One by one, relief supplies filled the back of a U-Haul at the Ponte Vedra Presbyterian Church. It’s all set to go to Burnsville, North Carolina. The same spot where Tara Miller’s husband comes from.
“This is just overwhelming, I’m going to cry,” she said. “Diapers, everything they need to stock food shelves at the food pantry they have. It’s pretty bare right now and limited.”
Miller and Renee Woods worked in conjunction with the Ponte Vedra Christian co-op and Ponte Vedra Presbyterian Church on Palm Valley Road to set up a donation drive. Miller’s husband, Luke, is a school teacher in Ponte Vedra, and they’ll drive the U-Haul to her brothers-in-law, who runs a reconciliation house up in Burnsville. It’s an area hit hard by Hurricane Helene. So, they’re doing what they can with the help of some students.
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“He’s [Luke] a high school math teacher who just gives, so to hear his town was devasted. Everybody wanted to help out,” Woods said.
“We’re trying to find the porta potty (portable restroom) sink you can pump manually because sanitization is a big issue up there now,” Miller said. “First aid supplies like bandages and antiseptic wipes, they’re in need of trash bags.”
The community has already helped out with so many supplies, they exchanged a smaller U-Haul out with a larger one. The goal now is to fill it all up before they leave Thursday afternoon at 6 p.m.
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Severts Christmas Tree Farm is also looking for donations, asking for water and non-perishable items to be dropped off at its Jacksonville and St. Augustine locations. Action News Jax also told you about Angie’s Subs in Jacksonville Beach, which brought several trailers of supplies to North Carolina on Wednesday.
For volunteers like Miller, she’s grateful.
“We’re just blessed to be part of an amazing community between the church, co-op, everybody,” Miller said. “I don’t have words, it’s overwhelmingly amazing.”
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