Tents pitched outside The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in New Bern, North Carolina, where 275 Richmond volunteers camped while they helped with hurricane cleanup efforts.
375 members and friends of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from the Richmond, Virginia area traveled to Eastern North Carolina over the weekend of September 28th-September 30th to provide much-needed disaster cleanup assistance to residents in hurricane-ravaged New Bern and Harkers Island. The weekend was the first in an ongoing effort by The Church of Jesus Christ to assist North Carolina residents with Hurricane Florence cleanup. An additional 230 Latter-day Saint volunteers from Virginia Beach were deployed to Morehead City and Harkers Island locations as well.
Tents pitched outside The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in New Bern, North Carolina, where 275 Richmond volunteers camped while they helped with hurricane cleanup efforts.
Richmond Latter-day Saints camped in tents outside of the New Bern and Harkers Island Church of Jesus Christ buildings, which have been converted into disaster relief command centers for the areas. Volunteers were responsible for their own food and accommodations during the weekend.
Richmond volunteers from the Mormon Helping Hands (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) help remove a fallen tree from the yard of a New Bern resident in North Carolina.
Administrative volunteers used CrisisCleanup.org to claim work orders that were prioritized by need, then assigned jobs to work crews made up of approximately ten volunteers each. The Church provided tools such as wheelbarrows, shovels, crowbars, and chainsaws to each team to facilitate mucking out homes and clearing debris. Most volunteers brought their own sturdy boots and work gloves. Volunteers were also provided with yellow "Mormon Helping Hands" vests and shirts to clearly identify them as organized volunteers on work sites.
A boat sits in front of a home in New Bern, North Carolina, after Hurricane Florence flooded the area with five feet of water.
Kathy Moore's home, on the banks of the Neuse River in New Bern, was flooded with five feet of water from the storm, and when the water receded it left muck six inches deep inside and out, along with debris from neighbors' homes, including part of a deck, a shed roof, furniture, lawn decorations, and a hot tub. Moore said that Hurricane Florence was, in a word, "devastating," and that the damage to her home left her feeling "numb, sad, broken-hearted."
Richmond volunteers from the Mormon Helping Hands (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) with New Bern resident John Rol. Volunteers mucked out Rol's home, which was flooded with six feet of water from Hurricane Florence.
When asked how she felt when the Mormon Helping Hands volunteers arrived to help, Moore said, "Relief. I can't say enough about the compassion and awareness for seeing what the needs were and responding so quickly to it all and expecting nothing in return." Moore also said she hopes the work will continue. "[The effect of the] hurricane is far from over. People still need a lot—a lot of help with cleanup and repairs."
Sandra Molko, of Lawrenceville, Virginia, volunteered with the Latter-day Saints from Chesterfield. She said of the experience, “My heart was overwhelmed with gratitude to be able to be of service to many of those people who had lost everything. This is what the Church is all about... service and love to our brothers and sisters in need.”
Richmond volunteers from the Mormon Helping Hands (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) serving New Bern residents over the weekend of September 29-30 2018.
Richmond volunteers from the Mormon Helping Hands (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) help push a flood-damaged car from the garage of a New Bern resident in North Carolina.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will continue to operate command centers for weekend cleanup efforts in Eastern North Carolina until the work is completed, with a goal to have 1,000 volunteers in the state every weekend through the end of November. Those interested in assisting with the Church's relief efforts can find out more at JustServeNC.org, or email JustServeNC@gmail.com.
Richmond volunteers gather for a brief church service at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in New Bern, North Carolina, on Sunday morning, September 30th, before going out into the community to help with hurricane cleanup efforts.
