Support for hurricane victims was overwhelming in area

This fall devastating hurricanes with torrential rains and wind swept through the southeastern United States causing massive destruction in their wake.

People from around the country and world watched entire communities being washed away by floodwaters and landslides. The region is still slowly recovering from the impacts of the storm.

Something needed to be done to help those impacted. A couple of friends and coworkers at Taylor County had a general conversation in the early days following the devastation of Hurricane Helene. The tone of the conversation was one of helplessness, and soon it became obvious that the best way to shake that feeling was to take action.

After a few preliminary phone calls, plans quickly began to develop, explained Gwen D. Thomas, Clinical Administrative Assistant with the Taylor County Human Services Department. She said that within a few short hours nearly everyone they talked to was eager to hop on board and help however they could.

The efforts quickly spread throughout the community. She noted that a few students at Medford Area Senior High School spontaneously took it upon themselves to take up a collection for the victims of Hurricane Helene and brought a plastic bag of money to one of the local collection sites containing $337.55.

The Medford students were not alone. At Rib Lake Elementary School students raised $1,075 in donations.

Their efforts started with a few 4th grade students expressing a desire to “do something” to help the victims of Hurricane Helene. The father of one of the children was in the affected area providing aid, and the students were worried about family and friends in those areas. The decision was ultimately made to organize a coin collection. The kids made posters and put buckets out around the school, created a slide for the daily school announcements, set up and manned a donation table during parent/teacher conferences, all resulting in the collection of $1,075.

The giving didn’t stop there. County Board members, local businesses and private citizens also donated monies for a grand total of $3,107.55 going to Samaritan’s Purse, a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world, and whose international headquarters is based in Boone, North Carolina, where much of hurricane devastation occurred.

A local quilting group, Comfort Quilters, consisting of Chris Konieczny, Kim Gasek and Sue Draeger, donated 12 quilts for Hurricane Helene disaster relief. This group of ladies is very active in the community, donating quilts to many local organizations from Veterans organizations, Hope Hospice, Taylor House, Baskets of Hope, Medford kidney dialysis, cancer patients, and more.

Donation bins were set up at the following sites in the area: County Market, Medford; First Presbyterian Church, Abbotsford; Good Shepherd Catholic Church, Rib Lake; Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Medford; Huey’s Hideaway, Medford; Immanuel Lutheran Church, Medford; Medford Motors, Medford; Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, Whittlesey; Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Stetsonville; Taylor County Clerk’s Office, Medford; Taylor County Highway Department; Taylor County Human Services Department.

Organizers ultimately packed a 12 foot trailer and hauled it to Box Drop Mattress & Furniture Direct Wausau, which was the drop site for Hurricane Relief Central Wisconsin. There they palletized and wrapped all the donations for shipping out to Johnson City, Tennessee.

Taylor County donations went out on their final load hauled by River Valley Express and was delivered about November 4.

“When we took on this project of collecting donations for the disaster relief, we had no idea of the outpouring of support we would find in our community. It was an uplifting, humbling and amazing experience,” Thomas said.

She noted that their collection efforts were just part of many collection sites throughout the area that had an outpouring of support, seeing it as a further example of the magnitude of generosity of community members.

“We were particularly blown away by the young people who took it upon themselves to participate; it brings much hope in this rough season many of us have been experiencing,” Thomas said.