Donations continue ramping up one week after Helene ravages western NC

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- It's been one week since Helene brought torrential rain, tornadoes, and catastrophic flooding to North Carolina, and local efforts to get help to residents of Western North Carolina are ratcheting up. Hundreds of air drops carrying food, water, and more are taking place every day -- many originating in the Triangle.

"Every time we reach out and say, hey, we need some more volunteers, five more show up," said Anna Barson, a member of the volunteer organization Triangle Young Professional Civitan, and a volunteer coordinator for a major local drive.

Anna said after seeing images of the damage last weekend she decided to act -- partnering with two local breweries to set up supply drop locations. Shortly thereafter, interest in the effort ballooned.

"Within 24 hours, we had 13 different breweries and coffee shops saying, 'Hey, we want to be a drop spot, too,'" she said.

On Friday evening, dozens of volunteers showed up at Boxyard RTP to pack up six U-Haul trucks and two cargo vans with supplies that will first make their way to an airport in Statesville, then get packed onto planes for airdrops in the mountains.

"It just makes me so proud to live in a community and be part of a group of young professionals that will do anything when we are asked and the call is needed to assist," said Meaghan Keane, President of Triangle YP Civitan.

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Operation Airdrop is facilitating several local supply drives, including one based out of a Trophy Brewing warehouse in Raleigh.

"I'm very familiar with a lot of the little communities too and a lot of the little back roads. And just now when these people are - you know, just devastated," said Linda Hollamon, a Cary native volunteering at the Raleigh location.

Trophy Brewing offered up the warehouse -- which will be a future brewery location -- to accommodate the efforts to get aid out to Western North Carolina.

"It's been incredible to see like we put out a notice that we were going to, we wanted to fill up a pallet and people showed up almost instantaneously," said Chris Powers, one of Trophy's owners.

Powers said he and several colleagues were moved to see Asheville Breweries they loved getting ravaged by the storm.

"What if that happened to us? We'd want our friends and our neighbors to show up for us. So that's what pushed us to get off our butts and start doing something," Powers said.

It's an effort that's just getting started -- that's bringing out the best in the Triangle.

"This is where people shine," Barson said.

Operation Airdrop coordinates with local pilots to facilitate air drops in at-need areas. The supplies packed up at RTP will head to Statesville before being dropped, while the Trophy Brewing operation will go through Sanford.

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