By: Bethany Bray Patterson

Helene slammed into the Florida coast as a category 4 hurricane on Sept. 26 and churned Northward, leaving a path of destruction and heartbreak through the Carolinas and other states.

Trained Red Cross disaster workers were in place before the first drops of rain fell, and will continue to support people impacted by Helene in the weeks and months ahead. From delivering hot meals to communities without power and comforting families in shelters to distributing financial assistance to residents whose homes have been damaged, the Red Cross is here to help South Carolinians get back on their feet.

Below are some of the stories of the hundreds of Red Cross volunteers who have played a part in Hurricane Helene relief efforts in South Carolina.

DAVID LESSER

The Red Cross has delivered more than 75,000 hot meals in South Carolina communities impacted by Hurricane Helene.

This important work is made possible by volunteers like David Lesser, one of the managers who keeps the schedule for dozens of Red Cross mobile feeding teams running smoothly. Every day, Lesser makes sure the disaster response vehicles and delivery teams have all the supplies and important details they need before they disperse into communities.

Lesser has volunteered with the Red Cross for more than 10 years and says he does it because he loves people.

“This work is all about the people: the people in the communities we are helping and my fellow Red Cross volunteers,” says Lesser.

“I always return home [after deploying with Red Cross disaster relief] feeling good and wanting to go again. It’s addictive,” he adds, smiling.

After a hurricane fades from news headlines, it can be easy for people who live outside of the affected area – like Lesser’s hometown in New Hampshire – to forget about the heartbreaking impact of disasters. However, Lesser says he plans to spread the message: “the work is not done.”

The Red Cross will continue to help residents affected by Helene in the weeks and months to come, however long it takes to support communities on the way to recovery, he says.

STEVE SCHRADER

Volunteer Steve Schrader has lost count of the number of pallets of nonperishable food, tarps, cots and other essential items he’s loaded and unloaded as a forklift driver with Red Cross disaster relief in Greenville, South Carolina. Multiple trailers are delivered to the Red Cross warehouse every day, and Schrader and the warehouse team ensure that items are organized and sent back out on Red Cross vehicles to help meet needs in local communities impacted by Hurricane Helene. He estimates he’s seen tens of thousands of Red Cross blankets come in, and then back out of, the Greenville warehouse.

Schrader, of Omaha, Nebraska, had a past career running a lumber yard, so volunteering with the Red Cross as a forklift operator was a natural fit.

“I volunteer because I like the sense of helping people, and this is a way to help with skills that I had already,” he says. “We have moved so much product here [in Greenville] and it’s rewarding to think about how it’s all going to help people.”

JACK KEELER

The American Red Cross handed out more than 2,000 meals to families on a recent afternoon in Ware Shoals, South Carolina, a rural community that was hard-hit by Hurricane Helene. As car after car came through the pickup line, volunteer Jack Keeler spent a few minutes with each one, weaving jokes into a brief but heartfelt encounter that ensured each resident felt acknowledged and supported.

“I try and talk with the people we help as much as possible to lift their spirits. My greatest ambition is to see a smile on their face,” said Keeler. “I’ve served hundreds of meals while I’ve been here in South Carolina, but I’ve touched thousands of lives. The meals are important, but the conversations are even more important.”

Keeler, an Alabama resident, knows firsthand the impact a hurricane can have. He lived through Hurricane Sally in 2020 and spent two and a half years rebuilding his home.

When a home is damaged in a disaster, the stress of recovery creates a ripple effect. The resident’s whole life is impacted, Keeler says, from employment to food security. Recovery is even more of a challenge for people who live paycheck to paycheck, he added.

In the weeks and months after a disaster, “the forgotten people who are no longer thought about still have needs,” Keeler said. “Just because the power comes back on doesn’t mean the needs are over.”