Charleston’s largest charity is working to make it easy for Lowcountry residents to provide much-needed help to animals in western North Carolina that survived the devastation of Hurricane Helene.
“Asheville is in a really dire situation,” Charleston Animal Society (CAS) President and CEO Joe Elmore said today. “They don’t have the ability to accept bulk volume supplies, and their business partners are all underwater. Money is not going to help them, but the primary shelter doesn’t have running water.”
The Charleston Animal Society (CAS) is setting up two donation drop-off sites at its shelter in North Charleston and at Mount Pleasant Town Hall to support animal shelters in affected areas, and people who are working through the tragedy to care for the animals there. Their top priority right now: water.
Several area shelters are working together, Elmore said, but none of them have power yet, and only a handful have running water. CAS is asking for donations of gallon or 5-gallon jugs of water or cases of bottled water — not individual bottles.
“We want to get a series of pickup trucks full of water up to them on a regular basis,” Elmore said. “If they have additional needs that unfold, we can adapt, and get that to them, too. … We’ll just have to see how it goes from here.”
Elmore said the nonprofit has also set up a special link for cash donations at charlestonanimalsociety.org/helene, with 100% of donations going to impacted shelters in the upstate and Western North Carolina.
Also underway are other recovery efforts in the wake of Helene’s historic flooding and landslides. As of Tuesday, the death toll is 133 across the Southeast. Many survivors in a devastated North Carolina are left stranded by washed-out roads and lack of power and cellular service.
Government officials and national aid groups are delivering supplies by air, truck and even mule to the hard-hit tourist hub of Asheville and its surrounding mountain towns, where at least 40 people died amid a wasteland of splintered houses, crushed cargo containers and mud-covered highways. President Joe Biden is expected Wednesday to survey damage throughout the Carolinas.
“It’s apocalyptic,” said one Charleston resident with ties to the N.C. mountains. “People just don’t realize the magnitude of the devastation. It’s going to take months for some water and power to come back.”
Other ways you can help
In dire situations like these, it’s vital that those who want to help survivors do so properly, officials said. Instead of loading up your truck with supplies and driving into the danger zone yourself (and risk adding to the still-growing list of people who need help), you may want to consider donating monetarily to the following organizations:
The North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund is now accepting contributions for hurricane damage. Contributions go directly toward helping unmet needs of those affected by the storm. Donate online at pay.payitgov.com/ncdonations.
The American Red Cross is fully activated to assist with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Donations enable the organization to better respond to and help people recover from the disastrous storm. Donate online at redcross.org/donate or find out how to volunteer at redcross.org/volunteer.
Global relief organization World Central Kitchen has teams assessing needs and serving meals in several states affected by Hurricane Helene. Donate online to help feed survivors at wck.org.
United Way is accepting donations to aid the group in mobilizing resources to help those affected and support long-term recovery efforts. Donate online at unitedway.org/hurricane-helene.
Hope Mill, Inc. is partnering with a group of independent pilots landing helicopters in areas of the Asheville mountains where road access is still cut off. Funds are being used to purchase water and critical supplies. Donate through GoFundMe.
Nonprofit law firm Legal Aid of North Carolina is gathering monetary donations to fund free legal assistance to those affected by the storm. Donate online at legalaidnc.org.
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