North Carolina couple displaced by Hurricane Helene holding fundraiser in Mesa for recovery efforts

Mesa winter residents Steve Johnson and his wife Jill experienced firsthand the horrors of Hurricane Helene back in September.

The couple were living in a log cabin near the South Toe River in Burnsville, North Carolina, on a steep mountain slope. Due to flooding from the storms, Steve and Jill had to evacuate their home, but couldn’t get out due to uprooted trees, which not only obstructed their driveway but also damaged their car.

“Jill needed a CPAP so we had no electricity. Some neighbors came with a group of eight guys and cut a path through the trees so we could walk out. We got the tree off the top of the car so we could drive the car to the top, but we couldn’t drive it because the windshield was damaged. So one of our neighbors took us to a shelter at the Yancey County Fire Department right outside of Burnsville,” Johnson said.

While heading through town on their way to the shelter, Jill noticed that everyone was collaborating together to help people who were trapped get out of their homes.

“It was neighbor helping neighbor. You had these hillbilly men out there with their pickup trucks and their songs and they were cutting trees to let people out. It was the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen, how everybody just sprung into action,” Jill Johnson said.

After spending time in a shelter and seeing how everyone would band together to help each other through a crisis, the Johnsons were inspired to help in their own way. Currently, they’re staying at the Venture Out luxury condominiums in Mesa. On Jan. 9, they plan on holding a special fundraiser in the Venture Out ballroom, where they’ll raffle and auction off items to the public.

Proceeds from the event will go toward Samaritan’s Purse and Rebuild Hope, two charitable organizations that are helping with relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts in North Carolina.

For Kimberly Storts, the lifestyle director at Venture Out, these kinds of fundraisers are nothing new to the community.

“Homeowners don’t pay their dues when it comes to funding the recreational side of our operations. So we’ve repeatedly done fundraisers to raise money for the recreational side,” Storts said. “Steve had the raffle idea and it just kind of came together that we’d host it in our ballroom. Residents at Venture Out know that they’re fortunate, but I don’t think they’re seeing all the stuff that’s going on or what Steve and Jill went through. If more people learn about it, they’ll want to help.”

One item to be auctioned off at the event is a wooden flag made by a community member. Steve Johnson said the majority of auctioned items will be made by members of the nearby community in Mesa or from neighbors back in North Carolina, putting a personal touch on each item.

Steve has been getting on the woodcrafting action himself.

“I’ve been making coffee tables and end tables using barnwood I brought with me from North Carolina. I’m gonna auction all of those tables off. People have made wooden flags, wooden bowls, silver bracelets, quilts and more,” Johnson said.

Jill said that she received some items as well.

“A friend of mine was going to come down here, but her husband was recently diagnosed with cancer, so they have to stay up in North Carolina for awhile. But she sent down two gorgeous quilts to auction off. We’ve had other ladies who had made quilts and sold them to donate the money,” Johnson said.

According to Storts, this fundraiser couldn’t be timed better. The winter season is the time where Venture Out is the most populated, which makes for a large potential number of participants.

“We’re in-season, we have about 3,000 residents that are here. It’s one of the larger communities. Maybe a lot of people here at Venture Out wouldn’t mind helping out for a good cause,” Storts said.

Overall, Steve Johnson hopes that his fellow residents at Venture Out will see his struggles and be more motivated to help. He believes that if he’s able to share his story with community members and show how much it’s affected his family, the fundraiser will be a huge success.

“When suffering becomes personal, you get more in tune with the needs of your neighbors. I’m hoping that people see that we’re their neighbors and friends and feel that if there’s anything they can do to help us out, they would do it,” Johnson said.

For someone who wasn’t there in person, Storts understands the need for an event like this fundraiser.

“I was floored about what I heard. I did not know the extent of the damage in North Carolina. I think this fundraiser is a great opportunity to learn and to contribute to the cause,” Storts said.

Jill Johnson agrees.

“I don’t know what these people are gonna do to recover. I personally am totally traumatized by it. These people watched their house go into the river, or they were in it and had to grab onto a tree as the river goes by. Put yourself in these people’s shoes, wouldn’t you want somebody doing something to help you?” Jill Johnson said.

The fundraiser goes down at around noon on January 9 at the Venture Out ballroom on 5001 E. Main St. in Mesa.

To donate to the two charities, visit the links below:

https://www.samaritanspurse.org/disaster/hurricane-helene/?utm_source=Bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=m_YYCA-B24V&utm_content=HurricaneHeleneSitelink&msclkid=3b38b4fae996146e8db5d3aa120c4366&utm_term=samaritan%27s%20purse

https://www.rebuild-hope.org/