“The people in Florida need your prayers because we just went through this 10 days ago,” said Kathy Bernard from Somebody Cares Tampa Bay, referring to Hurricane Helene. “A lot of people lost a lot. It’s a double whammy.”

Milton is currently expected to make landfall in the Tampa Bay area late this evening or early morning Thursday, but we are joining with many who are praying for the winds to calm. Meanwhile, trucks of supplies are positioned in Georgia already and will deployed as soon as the storm passes. Another truck with supplies as well as a smoker is en route from Texas. Potential staging areas in Florida have been identified, and our chapters in Tampa Bay and St. Augustine, along with other partners, are prepared to respond.

Meanwhile, as we pray about and prepare for Milton’s arrival, our Somebody Cares America network of chapters and partners continues our Helene response efforts:

Arden NC
Working in partnership with CRI, Ally Force, and Holy Smoke USA, our distribution center in Arden continues to feed 1500 people every day while also distributing 2-3 truckloads of supplies as people stream in for comfort and help. Most of all, God is being glorified.

“We are seeing baptisms and salvations,” said CRI Director Sean Malone. “We also had the honor of providing a hearty, homemade meal, including smoked meats and delicious sides, for the Asheville Police Department Headquarters and the special operations units from neighboring regions.”

Since October 1, the Arden team has served over 10,000 hot meals to residents, volunteers, and first responders.

Hendersonville NC
SCA arranged for a truckload of supplies from relief partner Hands in Service to arrive today with 23 pallets of necessities. Another truckload of donations collected by North Palm Church in South Carolina will arrive next week with 16 pallets of medical supplies, wheelchairs, walkers, diapers, baby food, new coats, cleaning supplies, and more.

In addition to supplying 30–50 residents daily on-site and another 200 on weekends, the church is also sending pick-up trucks and trailer loads of supplies into the smaller communities around them like Etowah, Middle Fork, Green River, Tuxedo, and more. Some of them are very under resourced and are thrilled to have anything they can get. 

North Wilkesboro NC
SC Picayune shipped $30,000 worth of supplies to Anchor Ridge Church in North Wilkesboro NC, including food, jackets, and blankets. Volunteer teams from local churches are taking supplies into hard to reach mountain communities affected by Helene. 

Valdosta GA
New Covenant Church in Valdosta received their second 26 foot truck from SC Tampa Bay on Tuesday, with 16 pallets of diapers, formula, water, and other items. Approximately 30% of that community (30,000 people) is still without power. The church is distributing supplies but also making deliveries. SCA will be directing Johnsonville Brats to the site later this week.

Together, the Somebody Cares network has already brought in and distributed close to $2.5 million dollars worth of supplies to care for people affected by Hurricane Helene, but most of all we being a tangible expression of God’s love to them.

With ongoing needs from Helene and the anticipated urgent demands from Milton, we need your support now more than ever to bring relief where it’s most critical.

Your generous gift today will make an immediate difference in someone’s life, providing much-needed help in this time of crisis.

Thank you for caring!