Four days after the storm my family was able to get out of our own holler. We weren't expecting the total devastation that was everywhere. We didn't realize the apocalypse had happened in our very own town. There was no cell service, no power, no internet, CASH ONLY society. No water in town, No water at home. It was Apocalyptic. We were not prepared for the total devastation that had occurred in our most extraordinary Small Mountain Towns & Hollers. Our neighbors didn't have any food for their children, themselves or their animals. It all started with my family & best friend being willing to help, an empty parking lot & a tent in the middle of town. Up on a hill, overlooking the Bypass, aka Hwy 19E in Burnsville NC. Roses Parking Lot distribution was born, completely accidentally. No way could we ever have known how much help our neighbors truly needed. But we knew we didn't want them to come out of the holler and feel alone or abandoned like we did. We wanted to have a place for them that had whatever they needed. And we did it. We supplied thousands of our neighbors in Yancey & Mitchell County with whatever they needed for seven weeks after the storm. In an open parking lot. The response from all of America is what got us through those first seven weeks. I would make a video and folks would bring us what we asked for. We were able to give our neighbors hundreds of chainsaws & generators, no property escaped without tree damage, some lost hundreds of trees... everyone lost at least ten. I also personally wanted everyone to have a generator, so as long as you live in these two counties, you would get a generator. Our power is still sketchy in a lot of places, and folks need back up generators especially through this winter. We also gave out endless amounts of food, baby items, over the counter medications, hygiene, animal supplies & food, camping supplies, thousands of bins. Everyone needed bins to get their personal possessions and items out of their damaged or destroyed homes. It was so sad, so many stories, so many tears, so much loss. Everyone was shell shocked and didn't know what to do, so they pulled into Roses and got in line with us for supplies & hugs. Amongst the misinformation that it was dangerous and bad things were happening, folks still kept coming. They decided nothing would stop them from getting to their beloved mountains & bringing us whatever we needed. It kept us going. It kept us alive. And then God sent Doors... During a normal Saturday distribution day on November 2 a shipment of building materials came in. The building material went so very quickly, I understood that My community was desperate for BUILDING MATERIALS... I'll never forget thinking, "God, you want me to get into building materials?".. four hours later 100 doors showed up! That's how it all began.. Its gotten a little better every single day! Tools joined in & our Mountain Men & Women began to smile again. They began to realize that God was sending what they needed and it was okay to accept it. And then the Sheetrock showed up! And then God sent loggers from Alabama with loads of rough cut lumber... and more friends with TOOLS!! We have been so thankful to be able to supply our neighbors with everything you have sent since the storm. Thank you for helping us help our neighbors! |