CHEERS to the North Country Mission of Hope for their efforts to aid victims of Hurricanes Helene and Milton in North Carolina and Florida. The Mission of Hope knows a thing or two about aiding hurricane victims. The humanitarian group was formed in 1998 to aid those in the Central American country of Nicaragua who were ravaged by Hurricane Mitch. Since then, the outfit has grown immensely and has delivered aid in so many ways to not only Nicaragua, but other areas in the U.S. and beyond for more than a quarter century. Issues in Nicaragua have prevented the group from returning there in recent years, but the mission remains the same — to provide help wherever they can, and they have stepped up in response to this most recent disaster.
Through the years, the Mission of Hope, behind the tremendous leadership of Sister Debbie Blow, and now Executive Director James Carlin and so many others, has created and fostered an attitude of giving and caring here in the North Country. Because of their efforts, so many people have not only become involved in helping out, the region seems to have developed an even stronger willingness to give and care to those not only in our own region, but to those in need thousands of miles away. In other words, the Mission of Hope has made caring and giving cool, and that’s a wonderful thing, especially these days when we seem so torn apart by politics and social media.
The group’s most recent efforts to raise funds to aid those in North Carolina and Florida have been a great success so far and no doubt will make a difference to folks, many of whom have lost everything. About $15,850 in donations and pledges to support victims had been raised as of late last week. About $10,573 has been sent out so far and more has been pledged, Carlin told us.
Carol Herring, a MOH board member and a mission traveler, is the organization’s contact on the ground in North Carolina, and she deserves a Cheer as well. Herring lives in North Carolina and she has been helping to organize efforts at a staging area where they’ve been collecting items for the cleanup and for search and rescue.
The funds raised locally will go towards items needed in the affected areas and Herring has been helping to purchase them and get them delivered. Some of the supplies generated from local donations have been carried in to the badly affected areas by helicopter and mule trains. Hopefully efforts to help out will continue to grow and the people of North Carolina and Florida can slowly climb out of the despair that these terrible hurricanes have created.
Those wishing to donate can write checks payable to North Country Mission of Hope and send to: North Country Mission of Hope, James Carlin, Executive Director, 3452 Route 22 Peru, NY 12972, USA. Or visit the MOH website (ncmissionofhope.org) and donate through Venmo, PayPal or with a credit card, with donations marked as ‘Hurricane Relief.
Damage in Western North Carolina
Comments