Special Christmas celebration to be held for North Carolina community rocked by Helene
A North Carolina community still reeling from the devastation left by Hurricane Helene has something to be thankful for this Christmas season.
The Chimney Rock-Lake Lure region will come together on Dec. 14 for a special Christmas celebration with live holiday music, cookies, hot cocoa and even a toy for each child from Santa Claus, thanks to a coalition of nonprofit organizations, private businesses and faith-based groups.
In September, Hurricane Helene made landfall along the North Carolina coast, bringing with it torrential rain, widespread flooding and strong winds that caused extensive damage across several mountain communities, with the Chimney Rock and Lake Lure areas hit particularly hard.
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Homes were submerged, roads were washed out, and thousands of families were displaced in the storm's aftermath, along with floodwaters that swamped local businesses, devastated infrastructure and triggered landslides, making relief access to the area difficult.
The Christmas at Chimney Rock event is the result of ongoing relief efforts from key partners, including 180 Disaster Relief, Spokes of Hope, Paula White Ministries, Public Square, EveryLife, Shein, Jockey, Good360, PMI Foods, 360 Cookware and World Vision. Together with CityServe, these groups have been working tirelessly to support the area's recovery and bring aid to those affected by the hurricane.
"Locals in and around Chimney Rock are telling us that, as the holidays are approaching, most of the relief groups and TV news crews are packing up and moving on," said CityServe Senior Vice President Todd Lamphere.
"But we want them to know that we're going to do whatever we can to ensure every single child and family in the Chimney Rock region has a great Christmas this year."
Since the storm's devastation, CityServe and its partners have been on the ground providing essential aid, helicopter support for rescue operations, and the transport of supplies to remote mountaintop communities. The helicopters were provided by the Love & Life Foundation and flown by former Navy SEALs with specialized experience in emergency rescues.
In addition, mobile kitchens have served up to 6,000 meals a day through a partnership with Just the Crumbs Ministry, while the distribution of 300 Starlink satellite units from SpaceX has brought much-needed internet access to areas where communication was cut off.
A Christian chaplain with Cajun Navy 2016 who was among those assisting with the relief efforts in western North Carolina was critical of the federal response to the hurricane, claiming that the Federal Emergency Management Agency was especially slow to respond to the area.
Mitch Collier, who has helped with relief efforts in almost every major storm in the United States since 2017, told The Christian Post in an earlier interview that the destruction he witnessed due to Helene was the worst he has ever seen.
"It's been tough," Collier said. "Luckily, I have the strength of the Lord in me, because some people wouldn't be able to handle the things we've seen, some of the things we went through, some of the devastation that we looked at while trying to help people."
"God is good. God sent us up here. I found some people that God steered me to. One man told me that I saved his life. I said, 'God saved your life.'"
