https://www.wdbj7.com/2024/12/01/local-group-organizes-toys-hope-bringing-holiday-cheer-those-affected-by-helene/
SALEM, Va. (WDBJ) – The holiday season isn’t about presents, but it sure does make it fun for the kids.For parents in Tennessee and North Carolina, presents are the last thing on their minds. Right now, it’s about trying to get back to some kind of normalcy after Hurricane Helene.
“We’ve already took three trips and we didn’t go deep into the devastation. But we’ve got enough in, we could see what was going on.” said Chris Dickerson.
“It it won’t be the same as in terms of holiday for years to come, 2-3 years, minimal. It’s a very tragic situation,” said Scott Butcher.
Chris Dickerson and Scott Butcher are drivers for U.S. Foods. They’ve seen the devastation after making several trips to Avery County, North Carolina.
Although they don’t have reindeer, they were inspired to bring some holiday magic to the kids in the area.
“They have taken stuff to communities where nobody else has went to, they’ve just forgotten communities,” said Dickerson.
“There’s some 300 and some kids down there that have absolutely lost everything, and so that’s that’s sort of where this kind of got borne out of,” said Butcher. “You can’t help everybody, but you can help somebody, and that’s really the whole goal behind it.”
It’s called Toys for Hope. With the help of several other U.S. Foods employees around our hometowns and the community, they’ve filled three trailers full of toys and warm clothing.
“We’ve asked for unwrapped new but inexpensive toys. We know a lot of people who are donating, they’re going through tough times, their selves . . . But we’ve got some people who have donated bicycles, everything from stuffed animals to laser tag, we got Leapfrog, we got infant toys,” said Butcher, looking through one of the trailers. “We try to give them stuff that can be interactive because we realize that that that that life is not the same right now, and a lot of them are bored. And when you get bored, you lose hope.”
A fourth trailer is piling up now. You can help fill that trailer by donating new toys and clothes at the Teamsters Union Hall in Salem at 2550 W. Main Street.
Santa’s hometown crew will head out with those trailers to North Carolina next Saturday.for those affected by Helene.