On Sept. 27, 2024, the remnants of Hurricane Helene caused untold destruction across western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. More than 100 individuals died in North Carolina alone. In addition, the storm left thousands of people homeless, including Thanh Bui of Swannanoa, a town just east of Asheville. Floodwaters forced her and her son, Quintin,…
Health & Medical Ministries
Meeting Needs in a Medical Desert
For about two years now, Debbie King, a great-grandmother, hasn’t been able to get the right glasses to correct her declining eyesight. The Marshall, North Carolina, resident has been using her uncle’s glasses, and her vision has only gotten worse. Last week, though, she was amazed by how well she could see with the right…
Samaritan’s Purse Delivers Thanksgiving Meals in Western North Carolina
Felicia Honeycutt was miles from home at work when the worst of Hurricane Helene hit her community. It took three days for her to get home where she cares for an ailing husband in the Big Creek community of Yancey County, North Carolina. As residents enter Thanksgiving, now, more than two months into an ongoing…
Media
Western North Carolina Gives Back Press Kit
Media Resources Media Requests Press Releases Photos B-roll Western North Carolina Gives Back Despite the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, western North Carolina families, school groups, and churches remain committed to packing thousands of shoeboxes for children in need. Many churches are still distributing relief supplies, feeding the community, and helping families recover from the…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Rebuilding in Tennessee
Samaritan’s Purse has started rebuilding homes that were lost to Hurricane Helene, including one for Kim Mitchum in Mountain City, Tennessee. The September 2024 storm flooded Mitchum’s home—damaging her belongings and leaving her with a black mold infestation that could not be stopped. When our U.S. Disaster Relief teams came to her aid with the…
Media
Press Release Samaritan’s Purse Coordinating Largest Civilian Airlift Operation in U.S. History
Samaritan’s Purse Coordinating Largest Civilian Airlift Operation in U.S. History BOONE, N.C., Oct. 11, 2024—Samaritan’s Purse has completed more than 210 helicopter and fixed-wing missions to deliver emergency relief supplies to some of the most isolated and hard-hit areas of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee in response to Hurricane Helene—with more airlifts going out…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Couple Receives a New Home in Tennessee
“All I asked for was a tarp,” Kim Mitchum said as she stood on the back porch of her brand-new home built by Samaritan’s Purse. After she and her husband, Mike, lived their entire married life in Florida, they decided to return to Mike’s roots in Western North Carolina about five years ago. They found…
Discipleship, Education & Training
2025 High Country Warrior Ride Helps Strengthen Military Marriages
The rumble of motorcycles is a familiar sound in Boone, North Carolina—but on Saturday morning, the engines echoing near town signaled more than a mountain joy ride. More than 200 riders rolled out into the hills to show their support of military couples seeking healing for their marriages. Throughout the fall of last year, Samaritan’s…
Operation Christmas Child
Operation Christmas Child 2024-25 Report
Operation Christmas Child Special Report Every Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift prayerfully packed in Jesus' Name is a tangible expression of God's love to a boy or girl in desperate need. We praise the Lord for how He is using thousands of volunteers and church partners to share the eternal hope of the Gospel through…
Media
Press Release Samaritan’s Purse Deploys Three Water Filtration Systems to the Asheville Area, Including Swannanoa
Samaritan’s Purse Deploys Three Water Filtration Systems to the Asheville Area, Including Swannanoa BOONE, N.C., Oct. 4, 2024—Samaritan’s Purse is once again expanding relief efforts in western North Carolina with the deployment of community water filtration systems to Swannanoa and other hard-hit areas. Designed by a Samaritan’s Purse team of engineers, each water system can…
