Alerts Sign-up
Destructive hurricanes Helene and Milton recently hit the Southeast United States, causing significant damage across five states. In response, 21,284 volunteers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints offered assistance over a six-week period. These volunteers, recognized by their yellow shirts, provided aid in North and South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee.
The efforts involved members from 96 stakes who cleared debris, mucked out homes, tarped roofs, and provided hope to affected communities. They collectively contributed 311,256 hours of service.
W. Christopher Waddell from the Presiding Bishopric visited command centers in St. Petersburg and Asheville to evaluate the Church's response. He expressed gratitude towards the volunteers for their service: "They are emulating Jesus Christ by serving on His behalf and doing for others what they can’t do for themselves."
Elder Craig C. Christensen highlighted the faith-driven nature of these actions: “The service of our members and other volunteers is a reflection of their faith in Jesus Christ... May the Lord bless each and every person who has participated in this Herculean effort.”
Volunteers aided in recovering 10,348 homes and houses of worship. Kathy Reeves from Trenton praised their work: “I don’t care which church or denomination you belong to — we all belong to God.”
Additionally, 638 volunteers managed over 17,000 disaster hotline calls to create work orders for relief organizations.
Elder Amhad Corbitt noted the impact on families: “It was sobering to see the devastation... I personally saw hope and tears of joy in the faces of the grateful recipients.”
The Church delivered 38 truckloads of supplies including chainsaws and cleaning materials. Food banks like MANNA FoodBank benefited from these donations. Lisa Reynolds from MANNA acknowledged their quick response: “They have brought needed and usable supplies for us to distribute.”
Further humanitarian projects continue with collaborations involving donations to various relief organizations such as the American Red Cross.
Tony Paulk commended the volunteers during a worship service: “These yellow shirts arrived... What you carry is hope... Thank you so much for being here.”
