By: Bill Medina
This is a status report describing the efforts to date of St. James’s response to Hurricane Helene.After several days of heavy rain, the full fury of the storm hit on September 27. In the immediate aftermath of the storm, St. James, like most of the homes, businesses, churches and public buildings in the county, lost power and water. Within just a few days, donated supplies began pouring onto St. James – food, water, generators, chainsaws, diapers, pet food and more. Supplies were delivered by car, truck, and plane, some from as far as Alabama. In an outpouring of support, many parishioners came to the church in those first days and weeks to help unload supplies, sort them and help deliver them to locations around the county.
When St. James regained power and water, we became a neighborhood center for respite, shelter, to charge cell phones, and to pick up water and food. World Central Kitchen set up a tent in the parking lot to provide free meals for anyone who needed them.
Cash donations began flowing into St. James within days of the storm, some from personal contacts and some from people who learned of St. James’s relief efforts. The majority of the funds were donated over the next three months with the largest single donation, a gift of stock, from a donor in Minnesota. The stock was sold and deposited in early January. The donations were placed in two funds – an unrestricted Hurricane Helene Relief Fund with $135,794.73; and a restricted fund with $306,091.49 (from the Minnesota donor) with a donor-imposed limit of $500 per family.
The Vestry established an ad hoc committee to determine how to responsibly distribute these funds. Members include David Henson, Tom Morgan, Matt Henry, Kathryn Wells and Bill Medina.
The committee held its first meeting January 13, 2025. The most urgent need was felt to be food and household supplies. $50,000 was used to purchase gift cards – $25,000 from Ingles and $25,000 from Walmart. For several reasons, the committee decided to distribute most of the money through area nonprofits. A first round of checks went out February 25 and a second round on March 19. As of July, distributions are as follows:
Gift cards
Safelight – $17,500
Salvation Army – $17,500
Other – $15,000 (includes cards distributed in Bat Cave and Chimney Rock)
Grants
As of July, 2025, remaining funds are:
$25,637 – Unrestricted Fund
$145,091 – Restricted Fund
The committee has a goal of distributing the remaining funds before the end of the year.
Thanks to the remarkable generosity of a number of individuals, St. James has been able to help hundreds of families in a time of crisis. We would like to share a few of their stories.
The home of a single mother and her teenage daughter was split in two when a massive tree fell on the house. With the assistance of the HAC, they were able to move back into their home in July. An elderly lady’s home was badly damaged when two trees fell on her house. HAC was able to offer her temporary housing in a camper while funds received from St. James were used to repair her home. She is now back in her safe, restored home.
In early June, IAM assisted a 54 year old neighbor who came in for assistance with her Duke Energy bill of $763.67. She lost two sisters in the hurricane, had just lost her job and was deeply depressed. IAM paid her electric bill, provided food assistance, helped her with her budget, and gave her information about employment opportunities. In mid June, a 55 year old man with a teenage son and daughter sought help from IAM with an overdue rent payment of $1,360. He works in the food service industry but the restaurant was closed for eight weeks after Helene and when the restaurant reopened his hours were cut from five days a week to two days a week. He is seeking new employment. IAM provided the family with rent assistance and food.
During the first three months of 2025, Pisgah Legal Services helped 1,427 Henderson County residents in 564 cases. The grants from St. James provided much needed support for a number of these cases.
Caja Solidaria used our grants to help five families – replacing kitchen appliances, a washer-dryer, to repair a culvert and restore driveway access, and pay a past-due electric bill.
Nearly all these donations came from outside the parish. We believe this remarkable generosity was prompted in large part by the years-in the-making relationship between St. James and the larger community and by the tremendous volunteer efforts of members of the parish in the first days after the storm.
After a natural disaster of this magnitude, our efforts may seem puny. But as these stories illustrate, they are not. Our actions create ripples. As St. Paul reminded us in the readings a few weeks ago: “So let us not grow weary in doing what is right… so then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all…”
