A community that cares

NEWBERRY — I don’t think anyone was expecting the amount of destruction that Hurricane Helene left behind. If you were like me, you probably thought we would see some heavy rain and the wind may have picked up just a little. We got the heavy rain and the wind did pick up – a LOT – but what many of us weren’t expecting was to be without power for multiple days or having to throw out most or all of the food in our refrigerators because food had gone bad. Some households were running off generators while others were trying to find ways to charge electronics, find hookups for medical equipment, gas and fresh meals.

Hurricane Helene challenged us with finding creative ways to get things done. But, like always, the Newberry community showed up for one other. If you were following the Observer’s Facebook page post-Helene, you probably saw the multitude of updates that I shared to our page. I shared as much as I possibly could (with limited Internet the Friday Helene came through) – from school district updates, shelter availability, charging/cooling stations, updates from utility departments on the status of storm cleanup/power restoration and community events across Newberry that offered free meals/water to residents.

It was truly amazing to see so many people – many who likely still did not have power in their own homes – drop what they were doing to give to others in the community. Once it was safe to do so, I was able to go out and take photos at the former Big Lots parking lot where the Jeffrey and Harriet Lampkin Foundation, in partnership with the Newberry County NAACP and Jeffrey Lampkin’s Country Boy Kitchen, held a community cares giveaway on Sept. 29. The giveaway kicked off at 1 p.m., but I was told by someone at the event that people were lining up well before then. I even filmed a time-lapse video of just how long the line was – wrapping almost all the way to Harbor Freight. It’s on our Facebook page if you want to check it out.

There were likely numerous events like this held across Newberry County, so if any individuals or organizations joined forces to help their community in some way, shape or form over the last couple of weeks, we thank you for your selfless acts of kindness. They don’t go unnoticed.

I also want to take a minute to thank all of the linemen and first responders who have been working around the clock to restore power to households and respond to calls for service in Newberry County. A thank you also needs to be given to those who have graciously come from out of state to assist our linemen in restoring power. We greatly appreciate all of your help.

The outpouring of support I’ve seen in this community as we recover from Helene has been nothing short of amazing. Having lived in Newberry all of my life, it’s not surprising to me that when we go through challenging times as a community, we all join together to help each other out. I’ve heard the saying ‘It take a village’ a lot the last couple of weeks and it truly does take a village. Without our village, what kind of community would we be? Probably not a very good one. I’m so proud of how our community has rallied together to help out their fellow neighbors – let’s keep that going because the world could use a lot more good in it.