To those who have helped us, we are incredibly grateful. Whether you have contributed prayers, physical labor or monetary assistance, know that God has worked through you. We thought it necessary to write you this update, not to our credit, but to the glory of God.
For those who have prayed for us and our community, please know that these prayers mean more than we can ever express. This was a storm that no one could have comprehended for our community. No one can explain the tragedy of the storm, but we feel incredibly blessed to know God’s love and the love that others have shared through this Church.
For those who have come to the area to help, the physical help we received has gone a long way. We are a small congregation with limited resources in terms of manpower. People who have assisted in helping our immediate members and during the relief drives remind us that we serve a big God.
For those who have sent the church a monetary donation, please know that your contribution has had an incredible impact as well. We aim to be good stewards of the financial contribution this church has received and see to it that the needs of our greater community are met in whatever way we find possible.
Regarding prayer, manpower, and monetary resources, we want to let you know how you have helped those in need. These combined gifts have impacted many in our congregation who needed help, as well as the greater community that we are in.
As the High Country continues rebuilding, please keep us in your prayers. We have provided details below on our relief efforts and hope this encourages you. One thing that has been incredible to see in the aftermath of this storm is how communities can come together and rebound.
Please visit us if and when you are able. We are forever grateful to God from whom all blessings flow, and for you.
-Boone Church of Christ
A Recap on the Relief Efforts:
Directly after the storm, our congregation was able to do many welfare checks to make sure people (members, relatives, friends, neighbors, community members) were safe and accounted for. We also provided for the facilitation of goods delivered to people who couldn't get out.
Boone Church of Christ was able to organize two relief drives where essential items were given out, many of the items are detailed below. During these drives, anyone from the community could come out and pick up any items we had free of charge. Members and volunteers were on-site to assist as personal shoppers and help load supplies.
As many in our area were without power for 1-3 weeks on average, there was a big need for food replacement. Due to generous support, we were also able to help families at our relief drives by distributing grocery store gift cards.
Other challenges members of our community faced were the displacement of trees, roads, and bridges. Many mountain communities are served by private road infrastructure. An abundance of trees that fell down presented challenges for people to get in and out of their homes. The church was able to help facilitate groups of volunteers for tree removal. This was not only for our members but also for neighbors in the community.
Another area that of assistance was with private road and bridge infrastructure. Due to the topography of our area, many do not have state or county-maintained road infrastructure for access to their home. In these areas, roads and bridges are maintained solely by the people who use them.
In many places, driveways and bridges were completely washed away and have to be completely rebuilt. Government assistance for this type of work is either hard to find or nonexistent. The church has been able to assist in the rebuilding of some private roads and driveways and is currently seeing how we can support farther out communities with bridge work.
This is certainly not a comprehensive list, but please know that the lives of those who helped and have been helped have been enriched through this challenging time. We hope this paints a picture of some of the challenges there are and how God can bestow provision to rebuild through His church.
The work still continues as many more remote areas are still recovering and trying to rebuild. We thank you again for your prayers and support.
The relief drives assisted roughly 250 families, which, is approximately 750 individuals (and probably many more).
658 coats plus hundreds of blankets, toboggans, gloves and socks were given away at our coat drive.
73 generators to families without electricity
Over 100 cans of gasoline for generators
290 Churches of Christ Disaster Relief food boxes
Thousands of Bottles of water
Dozens of propane heaters
Dozens of electric heaters
Over $10,000 in grocery gift cards
Over 100 bottles of bleach and cleaning supplies
Almost 700 winter coats
Hundreds of blankets
Hundreds of clothing items
Thousands of baby diapers
Hundreds of baby clothing items
Hundreds of jars of baby food
Replaced one car
Helped one family financially to replace flood destroyed house
