Heroes of the Hurricane: From Dolly Parton to a Bunch of Mules

We’ve seen a lot of people pitching in to help out people affected by Hurricane Helene. That’s a great thing because there are still so many people in a lot of need and some of the areas are going to have issues for a while, trying to get everything back on line. 

Now, this is just a short list of non-government people and organizations that have stepped in. There are a ton of folks who have been helping out, including so many local folks on the ground–and we thank all of them for their efforts. 

Former President Donald Trump started a Go Fund Me to help out victims. Former Sen. Kelly Loeffler donated $500,000 to it, and it now has raised almost $6.5 million for charities helping out in the area; some of the money has already been disbursed. 

The incomparable Dolly Parton has donated $1 million of her own money, and that has also been matched by other charities and organizations with which she is involved, raising the total to $2 million. The money is going to the Mountain Ways Foundation, which will go to providing immediate assistance:

Parton also announced a partnership with Walmart, which is donating $10 million. 

We’ve spoken about Elon Musk delivering a lot of Starlink systems to the area so people are not cut off, and are able to communicate. Ivanka Trump was among the people helping with that delivery, along with the Love and Light Foundation. My colleague Jennifer Oliver O’Connell wrote about the tremendous efforts of Jordan Seidhom and his son and co-pilot, Landon, flying in to help rescue people. 

READ MORE: A Helicopter Pilot’s Rescue of a Couple Shows Everything Wrong With the Government’s Response to Helene

Biden, Harris Comments in Hurricane-Affected Area Raise Questions and Anger; Elon Wrecks Them in Tweet

There are a lot of folks and organizations doing boots-on-the-ground work, including search and rescue folks (you can see one SAR person and his dog in the featured picture), Samaritan’s Purse, Mercury One, and the United Cajun Navy. Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) has been there for days helping with flights, which are making welfare checks, and providing medicine, and supplies: 

Then there are the mules and their riders. Because some of the areas are remote and the roads are wiped out, mules are one of the few ways of getting in over the terrain. 

Cajun Navy 2016 partnered with Mountain Mule Packers, which provided food, water, medicine, and ice. 

Thanks to all these folks for caring about their fellow Americans, and to anyone else who has helped that I didn’t mention.