This past fall, FSI recently partnered with a team that went to North Carolina for a week to assist with cleanup efforts that were a result of damage from Hurricane Helene (FSI Joins Hurricane Helene Disaster Relief Efforts in NC – Fulfilment Strategies International). As a reminder, Hurricane Helene was a Category 4 level storm that occurred in September where there was a tremendous amount of tree damage and flooding in the southeast, particularly in western North Carolina, east Tennessee and southwestern Virginia. Our previous trip was for storm cleanup that was primarily chainsaw work of downed trees, and this time FSI went back to join in with the rebuilding of damaged homes in Tennessee.
We worked on multiple homes throughout the week, but we were mainly assigned 1 home in particular that has been getting worked on by rotating groups for months. During our week of work, we did painting (both inside and outside), electrical work, wood flooring, laid tile and built a deck. Here’s a good shot of what the home looked like inside a few months ago, and the rest of the pictures below shows how it looked while we were there. It has come a long way.
During our week of work, we partnered with First Christian Church in Mountain City (First Christian Church Mountain City) and the Virginia division of the North American Mission Board/SBC’s disaster relief team. We’ll probably go back in the future, and I encourage everyone to join us or make contributions directly to Disaster Relief • SBC of Virginia.
While it’s been almost a year since the hurricane hit and lots of cleanup efforts taking place, there was still evidence everywhere of the storm damage. They’ll be recovering from this for years to come, and we’re glad we could contribute in some small way of helping them get back to normal.
One last thing: For the particular house we worked at, there is a local Tennessee celebrity named Becky who hosts a YouTube channel called the Hillbilly Kitchen that posts updates regularly about this home. You can see one of her earlier videos below that shows the condition of the home a few months ago, as well as an updated video of some of the latest work.