CofC Community Joins in Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts

Matt Kappel ’92 knows exactly how many flights it takes to deliver over two metric tons of supplies to areas devastated by Hurricane Helene: seven.

Kappel was inspired by the relief efforts of Lori and Isaiah Burch with Happy Helicopters, who coordinated the efforts out of Greenville, South Carolina.

“The first trip was at Isaiah’s direction in the sense that there had been a large donation consisting of a flat of bottled (more than 50 cases of bottled water) and dry goods in the hanger and he informed me that I would not be able to land in Hendersonville, but suggested to load up the plane and take  to somewhere in NC where I could land – which ultimately was Rutherford County,” says Kappel, a Greenville defense attorney, who began delivering supplies to areas in need in North Carolina, including Asheville, Franklin and Rutherfordton.

What began as a small endeavor between Kappel and a few pilots quickly turned into a huge relief effort.

“When I got back to Greenville on the 30th in the evening, the operation had developed into about 25 volunteers, and they were filling another hanger up with material. On Tuesday, I went back to the airport and the 25 volunteers had morphed into about 200 volunteers,” says Kappel. “It was really remarkable to see this effort, which (then) evolved into two 300 volunteers with a couple of 18-wheeler-type trailers, and just lines of cars stacked up on the road coming up to the airport just to drop off materials. Pretty amazing to see.”

Kappel says small private planes like his Piper Lance are effective when roads are blocked during natural disaster relief efforts.

Kappel was amazed by the effort on the ground once he landed.

“You would land your plane in Rutherford and you would be greeted by five or six people with hand trucks. You’d open the airplane up, and within two or three minutes, everything would be offloaded by this group, and you could see it go straight to the trucks,” he says. “It was just an amazing feeling to be a part of this connection between Greenville and Rutherford.”

Organizations on campus have also helped with hurricane relief efforts.

The Student Emergency Fund has directly supported five students whose families were impacted by the hurricane. The fund also helped students in need of funds to travel home to assist their families.

The Center for Civic Engagement and the Department of Residence Life are collaborating to collect items for communities in rural North Carolina. “Halls for Hope” is a friendly competition between residence halls that runs through Nov. 22, 2024, with the winning hall earning bragging rights and more.

The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee held a Hurricane Helene relief drive in the days following the hurricane, too. They collected supplies such as water, food, clothes, toilet paper and blankets. They then took the supplies to Fire Station 15 on Coming Street to be delivered to victims.

The School of Business Graduate and Executive Programs also recently held a donation drive for Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. They collected supplies such as pet food, first aid supplies, baby food, water and more to be sent to those affected in the Southeast.

The Charleston Gaillard Center also held a hurricane relief concert this past Sunday, Nov 3, with many College of Charleston alumni performing, including Cary Ann Hearst ‘01 of the musical duo Shovels & Rope and three members of the Gullah-inspired band Ranky Tanky: Kevin Hamilton ‘95, Clay Ross ‘98 and Quentin Baxter ‘98. CofC faculty also performed, with former employee Charlton Singleton of Charlton Singleton & Friends and adjunct faculty member Marjory Wentworth. Representatives from the College of Charleston were also present to provide additional fundraising opportunities. All proceeds from the concert were donated to the North Carolina Art’s Foundation’s NC Arts Disaster Relief Fund. This fund provides financial support to artists and arts organizations in North Carolina impacted by Hurricane Helene.