by Geoff Fox
Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida late last month, and as it made its way north, the powerful storm tore through Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, before weakening.
The mountainous areas of North Carolina and East Tennessee were hardest hit, with record-breaking rain that lead to severe flooding destroying roadways, houses, businesses, and in some cases, towns.
Towns such as Asheville, Swannanoa, Chimney Rock, Montreat, Lake Lure, and Marion were hardest hit.
Last week, Mellott Company in Warfordsburg put out a call on their social media for community members to donate supplies and needs for the folks in Marion, North Carolina, where Mellott owns Marion Machine.
The local community came through on the effort. 
On Friday morning, October 4, managers were filling a 40-foot sea length container with 12 pallets of water, hygiene products, food, pet food, flashlights, batteries, and other much needed items.
Marketing Manager Lindsey Bard said she got a call last Tuesday morning saying they wanted to do something to make an impact in North Carolina for not only the employees at Marion Machine, but also the community there as well.
“We had some calls, had some meetings, put our heads together to see what we could do because we wanted to make it happen really quick because we know there’s a real sense of urgency down there to get people what they need,” Bard said.
Things started coming together last Tuesday morning to get the word out and spread to the community.
“We know the people of this area have huge hearts and they really want to help in any way they can,” she said. “And they responded in a huge way.”
Bard said they are grateful for the amount of items people donated and thankful for the ability to help co-workers and the community in Marion.
Marketing Coordinator Emmaline Moser said the donations started coming in Tuesday and by that night, they had received monetary donations as well.
By Wednesday, employees on the Mellott campus in Warfordsburg had started bringing in donations. Moser added throughout the day last Thursday, members of the community were bringing in donations such as water, socks, can openers, and other items.
Donations were due to the Mellott campus by 8 a.m. last Friday, however Moser said things were still coming in that morning.
Around 9 a.m. that morning, items were getting packed into the trailer.
Moser said they are also working with a local radio station in Marion who will provide residents there with information about the drop off location and when and where they can get supplies.
Bard said the call for donations and the due date were such a quick turnaround because they wanted to get the stuff down to North Carolina quickly.
“It came together beautifully,” she said.
Bard added it was “heartwarming” to see the Mellott and community come together to help.
She said they had just been to the store to pick up some batteries to fill in with some monetary donations and the cashier told her and Moser they had helped the night before and thanked them for what they were doing.
They thanked the cashier as well since they contributed to the cause as well.
“It’s a way to bring everybody together at a time when it’s really needed,” Bard said.
Moser said they’ve heard from the plant in North Carolina and the employees are doing as well as can be expected, but the area itself was devastated.
“It’ll be nice to send some aid,” she said. “Every little bit matters.”