09/27/2025
GTC is taking the time to reflect and remember on this one year anniversary of Helene.
We had never experienced the world of disaster relief and mutual aid on such a HUGE scale when we decided to jump to action and head South to help out however and wherever we could.
The jaw dropping, panic inducing, absolutely surreal landscapes of mountains crumbled, the washed out roads and homes, piles of debris, the 4wheelers, tractors and helicopters lining up alongside one another to wait for “orders” from local first responders with no way to communicate with one another in real time.
The old friend from App State that welcomed us into her home and provided a refuge from the chaos. Being introduced to other former Mountaineers and watching the mutual aid connections be made in real time. Meeting local farmers, Teachers, Healthcare workers - all of them doing their part to help their neighbors and provide the basics that slowly trickled in as roads were cleared and shored up to allow for aid to reach further into the mountains.
It takes my breath away when I stop to recall those first few days of GTC “boots on the ground” - most of those days are a blur but some things are so crystal clear in my mind.
The mamas.
Ohhhhhhhh, the mamas and babies 💚
We watched them as they made their way through
local hubs that popped up in small barns, church basements, dive bars, old department stores, fire departments, and washed out roadside farm stands.
Weaving their way through torn open pallets, overflowing bins and piles of water bottles, searching for the items needed to maintain their sanity and their families.
As exhausted and overwhelmed as we were, as exhausted as we knew the local first responders and other disaster relief workers from states over and federal contractors must have been - these moms are what stick out in my mind.
How did they manage to hold it together?
Not only for themselves, but for their elders and small children thrown into a hellish daily life of fear and uncertainty.
We know we are only as strong as our children and communities are healthy and safe.
The response to Helene in WNC, ETN, and SWVA is proof that when we all come together to provide basic care, essential services and support to those who need it most, that’s when the best part of humanity is on display and it WORKS.
Today and everyday, we salute you -
Our local Central VA community of farmers, moms, dads, teachers and healthcare workers who filled our trucks and trailers with urgently needed supplies. The friends and farmers out of MD who knew borders meant nothing when so many needed so much just a few short hours “down South”.
The WNC local moms. The grandparents. The men with chainsaws. The local mutual aid groups already in place that were able to quickly respond bc they had already been doing the work day after day. The college kiddos. The old friends. The new friends.
May we all always remember the good and how lucky we were to see humanity come together to save Appalachia ✊🏼
After Helene, mothers held their infants tight as they swam to safety. Held their toddlers close as tree limbs crashed through their roofs. Held their teenagers fiercely after their kids witnessed death. From raging fires to record floods, more families across the U.S. are experiencing devastating i
