Hurricane Helene made landfall Thursday evening as a Category 4 hurricane in Taylor County, Florida. With 140 m.p.h. winds, the storm was one of the strongest ever recorded to make landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region. Helene’s destruction then continued through Georgia and the Carolinas, bringing life-threatening flooding, extensive power outages, and severe wind damage. Days later, communities across the Southeast are grappling with its impact. Below is a list of organizations working to help those affected by Helene.
Note: This article will be continually updated as we learn of additional organizations providing relief.
Across the Region
CARE
The Atlanta-based nonprofit is collecting funds to provide essential supplies and long-term recovery support for families in Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas. The organization specifically prioritizes aiding women and girls in its humanitarian efforts. Donations can be made here.
Salvation Army
The organization has dispatched teams across the South to provide emergency relief. To contribute to its efforts, visit its disaster response donation page here.
Americares
The nonprofit provides emergency medical relief after disasters and is actively collecting monetary donations to provide medical support on the ground after the storm. To donate, visit Americares’s Helene webpage.
Send Relief
This organization is coordinating its efforts with the Red Cross, FEMA, and the Salvation Army to deliver supplies to those in need in Perry and Live Oak, Florida, and near its ministry center in Valdosta, Georgia. Monetary donations can be made here.
Operation BBQ Relief
This organization provides hot barbecue meals to people displaced by disasters, including in areas affected by Helene. It has deployed trucks to the region. Donations to help provide meals can be made here.
American Red Cross
Red Cross volunteers are helping people across Helene’s path by providing food, disaster supplies, shelter, and additional help. The organization is accepting monetary donations to fund relief efforts and encourages people to donate blood to help those injured by the storm and support essential medical operations.
World Central Kitchen
This nonprofit provides food immediately after disasters and is currently set up in Tallahassee, Florida, to distribute hot meals to Big Bend residents. Monetary donations are being accepted to fund the World Central Kitchen’s food distribution operations in the Southeast.
All Hands and Hearts
All Hands and Hearts deploys volunteers to aid in short-term and long-term recovery efforts after disasters, including Helene. You can donate to Hurricane Helene relief through the organization’s Disaster Assistance Response Team here.
The Blood Connection
This blood donation organization, which serves hospitals in Georgia and the Carolinas, is calling for donations to ensure that vital operations can continue in the wake of Helene. To find a blood donation center, search for your location on the Blood Connection website.
GlobalGiving
Partnering with locally led nonprofits in Helene’s path, GlobalGiving has set up a relief fund to provide emergency medical supplies, food, and water to people and animals in need. Donations to the fund can be made on its website.
Operation Airdrop
This organization has started Operation Helene, a project to deliver supplies and meals to those in the storm’s path across the Southeast. To donate supplies or money or to volunteer, visit the Operation Airdrop website.
Southern Smoke Foundation
This organization funds workers in the food and beverage industry, from farmers to baristas, who have been affected by a natural disaster. Funds go directly into the pockets of workers to help with everything from affording essentials like groceries to repairing damage caused by the disaster. To donate, visit the Southern Smoke website here.
Save the Children
This nonprofit is distributing supplies, including hygiene kits, diapers, and baby wipes, to families in the storm’s path. The organization is also preparing to help repair childcare centers and schools damaged by the storm. To monetarily contribute to these efforts, visit the Children’s Emergency Fund here.
Rebuilding Together
With prior experience doing relief work after storms like Katrina and Harvey, this organization is on the ground in the areas hardest hit by Helene. To donate to its efforts to repair and clean up communities, visit the organization’s website here.
Mercy Chefs
The Virginia-based nonprofit is on the ground in Florida serving meals and helping residents, volunteers, and first responders. Donations may be made on its website.
Samaritan’s Purse
The Boone, North Carolina–based nonprofit is sending disaster response volunteers to the hardest-hit areas. The organization often partners with local churches to aid communities and stays to rebuild destroyed homes. To donate to relief efforts and learn more about the organization’s work, click here.
CORE
This organization is raising money for its Emergency Response Fund, which aids in disaster relief across the world, including after Helene. Working closely with the National Guard, CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort) is on the ground in Georgia and North Carolina to provide essential supplies. Donations can be made here.
Operation Blessing
With focuses in North Carolina and southern Georgia, the global humanitarian organization is distributing supplies and helping residents salvage belongings. To donate, visit its website here.
Florida
Second Harvest of the Big Bend
One of Feeding America’s three emergency food distribution centers in Florida, Second Harvest is accepting volunteers and monetary donations to distribute food and water to those in need throughout Florida’s Big Bend.
Kearney Center
The Kearney Center is a resource for people experiencing homelessness in the Big Bend region and serves as an emergency shelter during disasters. Donations to support its services, including providing shelter and meals, can be made on its website.
United Way of the Big Bend
Monetary donations to the United Way of the Big Bend’s Natural Disaster Relief Fund support both short-term and long-term recovery efforts by funding food banks and disaster relief in the region.
Volunteer Florida
A state-run agency providing relief after disasters, Volunteer Florida works with the Florida Division of Emergency Management to operate an emergency hotline (1-800-342-3557) and deploy volunteers to help those in crisis. Those interested in volunteering, donating money, or donating supplies can learn more on its website.
Community Foundation of North Florida
This organization has activated its disaster relief fund to raise money to distribute supplies, help local nonprofits, and organize volunteers in the Big Bend. Donations can be made here. Funds not used in the aftermath of Helene will stay in the fund to be used for future disasters.
Georgia
Georgia Baptist Mission Board
Made up of a collection of churches and volunteers across the state, Georgia Baptist Mission Board’s disaster relief program is accepting donations here to aid its volunteer deployment efforts.
Caring for Others, Inc.
With a focus on helping those in poverty, this organization has been collecting supplies and monetary donations to help Georgia residents in need. A link to donate to its “All Hands Mission,” which is a partnership with Convoy of Care, can be found here.
Community Foundation for the Central Savannah River Area
This group, which connects local nonprofits with funds, has started a Hurricane Helene Community Crisis Fund. To donate monetarily, visit the site here.
North Carolina
Hearts with Hands
This North Carolina–based nonprofit specializes in providing food and supplies during disasters. To see a list of ways to donate items or money or to volunteer to help with relief from Helene, visit its website here.
Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry
The Asheville-based nonprofit provides transitional and permanent housing for homeless individuals in the area. In the aftermath of Helene, the organization’s Crisis Ministry has partnered with the Red Cross to provide flood support, housing, and food. Monetary donations can be made here.
Cajun Navy 2016
This team is stationed in Asheville and is conducting wellness checks while delivering food, water, and other essential supplies. To support monetarily, donate on this Facebook page.
Baptists on Mission
Through setting up feeding units and recovery sites, this organization is already providing relief in the mountains of Western North Carolina. The nonprofit is actively seeking volunteers to provide showers, food, and laundry for those in need, as well as to help rescue people trapped in their homes. To learn more about volunteering or to donate money, visit this webpage.
Water Mission
The North Charleston, South Carolina–based nonprofit is providing generators and clean water to those hit by Helene in Western North Carolina, starting in Boone. To donate to support these efforts, visit the organization’s Helene disaster response page here.
Mother Earth Food
This Asheville-based farm-to-home delivery service has shifted its operations in the aftermath of Helene to bring food to communities in need. Partnering with local farmers, food trucks, and chefs, the organization aims to distribute nutrient-rich food to nourish people across Western North Carolina. Those looking to donate money to these efforts can do so here.
F.A.R.M. Cafe
Based in Boone, North Carolina, this café is providing hot meals to anyone who walks through its doors. The mostly volunteer-run restaurant partners with local farmers to serve those in need and is trying to send meals out to those who can’t reach the café. To donate to fund operations, click here.
United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County
Similar to local United Way chapters in Florida, this branch is working with area nonprofits to coordinate long-term disaster relief in Asheville and Buncombe County. To donate monetarily, visit this page.
The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina
This organization has activated its Emergency and Disaster Response Fund to provide support to nonprofits working on disaster relief throughout the region. To contribute a monetary donation, visit this website.
Tennessee
Mountain Ways
This new nonprofit was founded to provide immediate assistance for flooded communities in Northeast Tennessee. To donate to its disaster response efforts in Cocke County or to learn more about the organization, click here.
If you know of other organizations providing relief, please let us know at editorial@gardenandgun.com.
To learn more about a charity before donating, consult sites such as Charity Watch, GuideStar, or Charity Navigator.
