Over 120 volunteers turned out to help collect items donated to areas in Western North Carolina recovering from Hurricane Helene. (photo: Kelley Marrale)

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Donors and volunteers “Stuff the Truck” for Western North Carolina recovery

A tractor-trailer left the NCSSM-Durham parking lot this past Sunday evening, loaded with 20 pallets of donated Hurricane Helene relief supplies heading to the Buncombe County Schools’ Central Services building in Asheville. Items included non-perishable foods, cleaning supplies, personal hygiene products, and a wide range of tools to help in the clean-up. The donations will be distributed to the school system’s staff and students who were affected by the hurricane.

More than 120 volunteers drawn mostly from the NCSSM community staffed the “Stuff the Truck” drive, either receiving donations at the truck throughout the week, or in the NCSSM mailroom where they opened, sorted, and repackaged for delivery more than 500 Amazon packages that had been mailed through an Amazon wish list shared with the community. Combined, the volunteers contributed over 400 hours to the event.

Sue Anne Lewis, NCSSM-Durham’s Service Learning Coordinator who organized the relief effort, said the NCSSM and greater Durham communities were incredibly supportive of the effort.

“People who were driving up to donate applauded our students for wanting to do this, and they were happy to be part of the community that came together to fill up the truck,” she says. 

More than 400 hours of service were given to the “Stuff the Truck” drive by volunteers, some of whom are seen here unloading goods from a donor’s vehicle. (photo: Sue Anne Lewis)

Wesley Caddell, an NCSSM-Durham junior from North Brunswick High School in Leland, spent 26 hours volunteering on the drive. That gave him plenty of opportunity to chat with folks as they dropped off items. Among donors were individuals who were displaced by the storm.

“We got to see, like, both the good and bad parts of it all,” he says. “There were all these people coming to donate and help, but then some of them had actually been affected by the storm and we got to hear stories of how they were displaced.”

Despite the sorrow, Wesley still felt a sense of satisfaction in lending a hand to recovery efforts. “It felt pretty good just knowing that what we were doing was helping somebody.”

Among other items in the plastic-wrapped pallets were 168 care bags for kids which contained juice boxes, snacks, and play items such as fidgets, Play-Doh, and coloring books. Heading west in each of the kids’ bags was also a small representative of the school: either a unicorn stuffie – NCSSM-Durham’s mascot – or a dragon stuffie – NCSSM-Morganton’s mascot.

Staff at the Buncombe County Schools Central Services building unload the first of 20 pallets shipped to Asheville from NCSSM-Durham. (photo: Buncombe County Schools)

Breanna Hensley, a Digital Marketing Specialist for Buncombe County Schools, was on hand to help receive the truck when it arrived Monday morning at the Buncombe County Schools loading/unloading dock in Asheville. 

“Donations of all kinds mean the world to all of us,” Hensley says. “Our world has essentially been turned upside down; some have lost everything, while others may still be without power or water. But our motto from the beginning of the school year has been Together We Rise, and that’s been a powerful testament to many the past few weeks. From all of us at Buncombe County Schools, thank you to the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics for everything you brought to us.” 

NCSSM would especially like to recognize Lee’s 24 Hour Towing, who provided the trailer and transport of goods to Asheville, and Carolina Banner and Sign who provided the relief drive banners in front of the Durham campus. Their contributions to this effort were critical in helping make it such a success.