Western North Carolina was crippled by historic flooding and life-threatening conditions from the impacts of Tropical Storm Helene. Many organizations are working to support those in need during this difficult time.
WRAL Cares Hurricane Helene Recovery
Thousands of people have donated more than $900,000 through the WRAL Cares telethon. Every donation goes directly to supporting recovery and rebuilding efforts across the state.
The Red Cross is using those donations to operate 20 shelters in the state, helping nearly 1,300 people with a safe space to stay. Between North and South Carolinas, there are 600 responders helping people.
With partners, the Red Cross has served over 132,000 meals and snacks to people in need, both in shelters and along mobile feeding routes and delivered over 8,000 emergency relief supplies, including cleanup kits, to more than 2,200 households.
Donations are still being accepted online at these links:
DONATE TO the American Red Cross
DONATE TO North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund
Checks can be mailed to:
American Red Cross
100 N. Peartree Lane
Raleigh, NC 27610
North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund
20312 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699
WRAL Cares Virtual Blood Drive
The Red Cross has declared an urgent need for blood and platelet donations in the wake of Hurricane Helene. In addition to the unimaginable devastation caused by the storm, the hurricane forced more than 1,000 scheduled blood donations to go uncollected through the Carolinas and Georgia. That number continues to grow.
Hospitals are overwhelmed, supplies are depleted and blood and platelets are desperately needed. Those in areas of the state who can safely give blood are asked to roll up their sleeves and donate today to ensure that those who need access to lifesaving care can receive it. Pledge to give blood via this link.
Donate to Hurricane Helene relief in your community
On your computer, use ctrl+F or search by organization name or location.
Many organizations are collecting goods to be delivered to western North Carolina. Flooded communities need daily necessities, cleaning and rebuilding supplies.
What can I give?
- Bottled water, sports drinks
- Medicines like aspirin, Tylenol, Benadryl
- First aid kits
- Hand sanitizer
- Shower and bath supplies
- Clothing and blankets, towels, socks
- Bug repellent spray or wipes
- Trash bags, paper towels, wipes, toilet paper
- Paper plates and plastic utensils
- Rubber gloves, work gloves, rubber boots
- Diapers, baby formula, baby food, bottles and sippy cups
- Non-perishable food like granola or energy bars, canned goods
- Manual can openers
- Pet food
- Gas cans and gasoline, charcoal
- Batteries
- Flashlights
- Tarps
- Plastic storage bins
Where can I give?
Chatham County
Drop off donations during business hours, Monday through Friday at the following locations:
- Piggly Wiggly in Siler City
- Chatham County Sheriffs Office in Pittsboro
- Performance Auto in Pittsboro
- Solid Rock Community Church and Grace Chapel Church in Sanford
- Spill the Beans Coffee in Liberty
- Parks Crossroads Baptist Church in Ramseur
Johnston County
Donations can be dropped off at the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office located at 2875 U.S. Highway 70 Business East in Smithfield.
In addition to physical donations, cash and checks are also welcome. Please put “Western NC/Helene” in the memo line. All funds will be collected and donated directly to emergency relief efforts in western North Carolina. Please make checks payable to:
County of Johnston
Relief Fund
P.O. Box 1049
Smithfield, N.C. 27577
For more information, contact the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office at 919-989-5010.
Forsyth County
Operation North State, a nonprofit in Winston-Salem, is taking cash donations to purchase restaurant gift cards so that flood victims and members of the rescue, first response and emergency teams can have hot meals. ONS purchases gifts only from those restaurants that provide us with 50% discounts on the gift cards.
Checks can be made out to:
Operation North State
151 Windemere Ct.
Winston-Salem, NC 27127
You can also donate at operationnorthstate.com.
Person County
Timberlake Fire & Rescue is accepting donations at its station at 350 Ashley Ave. in Timberlake.
Wake County
American Woodyards, 5199 Hillsborough St. in Raleigh, is collecting supplies for deliveries to Lansing, NC. If after hours, please leave donations in front of scalehouse.
The Wake Forest Fire Department is accepting donations to aid Hurricane Helene victims and first responders Wake Forest Fire Department Station #1, 420 Elm Ave., is now serving as a donation drop off point for the counties in Western NC devastated by Hurricane Helene.
Cash and checks written to the Wake Forest Firefighter Foundation are also accepted. All monetary donations will be used to purchase additional relief supplies.
Other ways to help
Red Cross
- To make a $10 donation to the Red Cross, text HELENE to 90999.
- To make a donation of any other size, visit: Support Hurricane Helene Disaster Relief
- To find out more about becoming a Red Cross volunteer, visit www.redcross.org/volunteer
Donate to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund
- Donate at nc.gov/donate
- Donations for the fund will go to nonprofits working to meet the immediate needs of people needing food and water, cleaning supplies and other emergency supplies.
Triangle Community Foundation
- TCF is matching donations up to $25,000 to the Community Fund of Western North Carolina and the North Carolina Community Foundation.
The United Way
The United Way has created a fund to specifically help those affected by Helene. You may designate your donation to a local United Way or where it is needed most at the discretion of United Way of North Carolina.
The Association for Home & Hospice Care of North Carolina
This group has opened a Hurricane Helene Relief Fund to distribute directly to hospice and home care employees devastated by this storm. To donate, click here.
Adopt a Family: Help or get help after Hurricane Helene
By adopting a family, you can provide essential aid—whether it’s food, clothing, household items, or even temporary shelter.
- Fill out this donor form and specify what you can provide.
- You’ll be matched with a family who needs assistance.
- Choose how long you’d like to support them and what type of help you can offer.Volunteer to help clean up Western North Carolina
Many non-profits are collecting donations and mobilizing teams to help.
- The Salvation Army is accepting donation and mobilizing disaster response teams. Donate and find out more on their website.
- Baptists on a Mission volunteers are putting teams together to serve those affected in North Carolina as conditions allow. The group is accepting donations and looking for volunteers.
- Samaritan’s Purse’s headquarters is in Boone. They are currently scheduling volunteers to help homeowners with the destruction in the city. Find out how you can help.
- Find a recovery group to help via the North Carolina Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster list or find a group to volunteer with. There is also a national directory with organizations that are helping.
- Charity Navigator is vetting relief organizations that had pre-positioned resources to deliver food, emergency shelter, medical care, and other critical items to people impacted by Helene. Charities are rated on a 5-star scale based on their financial health and their accountability and transparency.
If you have donations, equipment, or have questions about specific needs, please email helenedonations@buncombecounty.org. If you want to volunteer, please email helenevolunteers@buncombecounty.org.
Appalachian State disaster relief fund
Appalachian State University said the school will be closed for several days due to infrastructure damage to the campus. The school saw significant flooding on Friday.
None of the residence halls were damaged, but its campus did sustain some damage from Helene.
The school provided a donation link that you can access by clicking here. Those wishing to donate will need to provide a donation amount and say how much of the donation they would like to go to the Appalachian State Disaster Relief Fund.
The Foster Family Alliance of North Carolina
FFA is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting foster caregivers and providers statewide, and is currently working to provide immediate aid to those who have lost everything.
Get more information on their website.
Some things to remember when donating
Disaster officials remind you that if you want to donate, do it through a disaster relief organization or the government. They publish lists of needed items.
- Only give items when they are requested
- Only give items that are on the list of requested items
- Do not send items directly to the affected area
DisasterAssistance.gov provides information about finding loved ones. You can also get information on this through the Red Cross.
Look for matching donations. Nonprofits recognize that individuals may not be able to give as much as they would like due to the current economy and the number of current global crises. Experts suggest giving through places that will provide a matching donation. For example, Walmart announced Monday that its foundation will not only donate $6 million to support Hurricane Helene relief efforts, but it will match all customer donations made to the American Red Cross at Walmart and Sam’s Club stores, as well as Walmart.com, until Oct. 13, up to $2.5 million.