As many of you are aware, five of our North East Tennessee (Johnson, Carter, Cocke, Unicoi, Washington, and Greene) counties were hit extremely hard, suffering catastrophic impacts from Hurricane Helene. The devastating damage caused by Hurricane Helene is still being evaluated. Our hearts go out to our friends and families affected by the unimaginable floods. Currently, Greene County has no water, as the system was washed away by the Nolichucky River during the flood. However, the counties are strong, and many relief efforts are underway to assist our friends and neighbors. Union County Extension is committed to helping our local community contribute with great impact. It's been said many times, Union County is the most giving, generous community imaginable.

After a disaster, people come together to help. To make the most of your contributions, it’s important to follow guidelines for donating and volunteering responsibly. Do not self-deploy. Seeing images of disaster may compel you to head to the impacted area. Don’t underestimate the complexity of working in a disaster area. Until a need has been identified and the local community impacted has requested support, volunteers should not enter.

Be patient. Recovery lasts a lot longer than the media attention. There will be volunteer needs for many months, often years, after the disaster, especially when the community enters the long-term recovery period.

How can you help now? In the immediate aftermath of disasters, agencies have limited volunteer opportunities. As the relief efforts continue, please revisit Historic Union County's website and UTIA’s disaster relief site (https://utextension.tennessee.edu/flood-related-resources/) to see how you can volunteer with and donate to a variety of organizations. The below tried and true best practices will give you a starting point on how you can help volunteer or donate responsibly for Hurricane Helene efforts.

How do I donate money to a trusted organization? Providing a financial contribution to a voluntary organization involved in disaster activities is often the most sensible and efficient way of helping people in need. Cash donations, rather than unsolicited donated goods, avoid the complicated, costly, and time-consuming process of collecting, sorting, packing, transporting, unloading, resorting, storing, repackaging, and distributing the goods. Cash donations to voluntary organizations help meet the needs of survivors more precisely, as the voluntary organization is in a better position to purchase or provide vouchers to purchase what the people need. Cash donations to recognized relief organizations are also tax-deductible.

Where can you donate? This is a list as of 4 pm on Monday September 30th. It is not complete list, it is a compilation various methods of outreach of behalf of Union County Extension Agent Shannon DeWitt.
Red Cross: https://www.redcross.org/donate/dr/hurricane-helene.html
United Way: https://support.unitedway.org/page/Helene
North Carolina: https://pay.payitgov.com/ncdonations
Tennessee: https://www.tnvoad.org/donate/
In North Carolina, Mercy Chefs is working to provide hot meals for community members and first-responders. For a donation of $3.50, you can provide a hot meal. Mercy Chefs link: https://mercychefs.com/donate-hurricane-helene/?fbclid=IwY2xjawFnj2hleH…

Unicoi County has set up a few Amazon gift pages identifying specific items you can purchase and have sent directly to the agencies:
Water Support for Unicoi County, TN - https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/M5GCQ3U9CFKT?ref_=wl_fv_le
Unicoi County Animal Shelter – Flood Relief https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1BQ8TEJ4SX94J?ref_=wl_fv_le
Erwin, TN Flood Disaster Relief https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1KH39NSLUSJRE?ref_=wl_fv_le

AIDNET of Greene County stands ready to help survivors of the catastrophic flooding due to Hurricane Helene. AIDNET will start the process of long-term recovery after the first responders, emergency services, and short-term assistance programs have concluded their work. AIDNET of Greene County is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and will coordinate resources and monetary donations for the long-term recovery effort to help rebuild homes in the coming months. AIDNET was instrumental in the recovery efforts after the 2001 floods and 2011 tornadoes in Greene County. Financial donations can be made through PayPal or by mailing a check to: AIDNET of Greene County, PO Box 2622, Greeneville, TN 37744. All donations will stay in Greene County for long-term recovery. Anyone who wishes to assist with long-term recovery is encouraged to contact Wendy Peay, United Way Director, at wendy@unitedwayofgreenecounty.com.

The East Tennessee Foundation is accepting monetary donations for impacted counties. For more information on the fund and how to donate, visit the https://easttennesseefoundation.org/east-tennessee-foundation/east-tenn…

How can I donate items people need? The most effective way the public can assist is to support the experienced disaster relief organizations with either financial contributions or in-kind goods and services that the organizations report are needed. Many experienced voluntary organizations involved in disaster relief have toll-free numbers staffed with operators who can provide information about which donated goods are needed in the disaster area. It is often a mistake to assume what is needed in a disaster. Donors should be wary of anyone who claims that “everything is needed” in a disaster. Get precise information before collecting any donated goods.

Current Needs & drop-off locations (these will be updated as we get more information about needs in the affected areas):
Location: Food City 4344 Maynardville Hwy, Maynardville
Time/days: during normal store hours
Items needed: bottled water, ready-to-eat meals, snacks, dog/cat food, diapers/wipes/baby formula, laundry detergent, hygiene items, feminine hygiene items, buckets, mops, brooms, large garbage cans, trash bags, work gloves, disinfecting wipes

Location Union Co. Heritage Festival, 130 Wilson Lane, Maynardville
Time/days: Saturday Oct 5th 10 am-4pm
Items needed: The needed items include hardware such as box knives, flat pry bars, shovels (flat & pointed), rakes, Tyvek suits, wheelbarrows, and floor squeegees. Essential cleaning supplies like large heavy-duty garbage bags, hoses, mosquito repellant, mops, brooms, buckets, and safety glasses are also required. Additionally, there is a need for all types of gloves, box fans, new sheets, backpacks, school supplies, gift cards, and new toys, including crayons and coloring books. Household necessities like toilet paper, paper towels, paper products, plastic ware, new dishes, towels, washcloths, and laundry detergent are also important. Personal care items such as toiletries, new hairbrushes, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, feminine hygiene products, baby formula, baby food, baby wipes, and adult diapers are in demand. New clothing, including underwear, socks, bras, shoes, and general clothing. Finally, Gatorade or other electrolyte drinks, individually wrapped snack foods, and new items for babies and hygiene.

Location: Union Co High School, 150 Main Street, Maynardville
Time/days accepting: 7:45 am-3:30 pm M T W
Items needed: water, snacks, crackers, toiletries, and canned foods
FFA Dept: fencing supplies posts, insulators, wire, barbed wire, T posts, gate handles, post drivers, temporary posts, gift cards to TSC, Rural King, Coop, etc.

Location: Midland Baptist Association is accepting donations at Bethel Church 8035 Clapps Chapel Rd, Corryton. There is a yellow trailer, just go in the front door.
Time/days accepting: Every day until the trailer fills
Items: The needed items include hardware such as box knives, flat pry bars, shovels (flat & pointed), rakes, Tyvek suits, wheelbarrows, and floor squeegees. Essential cleaning supplies like large heavy-duty garbage bags, hoses, mosquito repellant, mops, brooms, buckets, and safety glasses are also required. Additionally, there is a need for all types of gloves, box fans, new sheets, backpacks, school supplies, gift cards, and new toys, including crayons and coloring books. Household necessities like toilet paper, paper towels, paper products, plastic ware, new dishes, towels, washcloths, and laundry detergent are also important. Personal care items such as toiletries, new hairbrushes, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, feminine hygiene products, baby formula, baby food, baby wipes, and adult diapers are in demand. New clothing, including underwear, socks, bras, shoes, and general clothing. Finally, Gatorade or other electrolyte drinks, individually wrapped snack foods, and new items for babies and hygiene.

Location: Clear Springs Church, 7350 Tazewell Pike, Corryton
Time/days: Mon Tues & Wed 9a-4p
Items needed: bottled water, non-perishable foods, single-serving snacks, and manual can openers, along with baby food, formula, diapers, and wipes. Items like crayons, coloring books, oxygen, adult diapers, blankets, hygiene and personal items, trash bags, and cleaning supplies are also necessary. Tools and equipment such as work gloves, shovels, rakes, mops, tarps, bleach, plastic buckets, and totes are required, along with to-go food trays, bowls, containers, and first aid kits. Additionally, dog and cat food.

We have also been told of other organizations, as plans become solid, we will add to this list. To add donations sties to this article, please email shannon@tennessee.edu with the location, time/days, and items accepted.

Donate through a registered organization. It is never a good idea to collect goods for disaster relief without a firm plan in place that confirms the goods are needed, who will receive the goods, how the goods will be transported, and how they will be distributed. During a disaster, experienced disaster relief organizations base their activities on overall situation assessments and detailed needs assessments. Many relief groups have people and facilities ready to store and distribute the goods. Coordination with the relief group is essential to ensure the right goods are collected, the right amount is collected, and that logistics issues such as transportation, warehousing, and distribution are fully discussed. Donors will find that it is often most practical to focus on one or two items that an organization needs rather than collect a variety of items.

Used clothing is rarely a useful item to collect for disaster relief. Used clothing is rarely a useful item to collect and send into the disaster area because it is hard to clean, sort, pack, transport, store, and distribute. Mounds of clothing take up valuable warehouse space and frequently end up being discarded.

Donated goods must be well-packed and labeled. After confirming that the goods are needed and there is a plan to receive, store, and distribute them – the receiving organization will give you instructions about how the goods should be sorted, packaged, and labeled. If unsure of this process, discuss these steps with an experienced disaster relief organization. Specific content lists should be taped to the side of each box. This allows the receiving officials to determine the contents of the box without opening it, thereby allowing for a more timely distribution.

This information is provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (National VOAD). For more information about FEMA, go to www.fema.gov and for National VOAD, go to www.nvoad.org.