Gadsden, Ala.— Gadsden State Community College employee Tina Pendley loves western North Carolina, so when floods ravaged the area following Hurricane Helene in September, she wanted to do something to help.
“My husband and I love Waynesville, Maggie Valley, Cherokee, the whole area,” she said. “My heart was so heavy and broken for the people who live there. God put it on my heart to do something to help. I wanted to help bring some encouragement to the area. I couldn’t shake the need to go.”
Pendley, who works as the administrative assistant in the Business, Computer Science and Legal Studies Division, connected with members of Phi Theta Kappa, Gadsden State’s honor society, and they quickly sprang into action.
“PTK members are known to help when people are in need,” said Melissa Davis, PTK advisor. “When Tina came to us about collecting items to donate to those affected by Hurricane Helene, we instantly agreed to help.”
PTK members collected sleeping bags, canned food, pet food, feminine hygiene products, diapers, wipes, blankets, cooking stoves, clothes, paper products, children’s books, Bibles, propane, lanterns, socks and underwear. Members of Chapman’s Chapel Congregational Holiness Church in Glencoe also participated in the donation drive.
The donated items were loaded into the bed and cab of Pendley’s husband’s Ford F-150, and they hit the road headed for the Smokey Mountains Event Center. Once they arrived, they were told the facility was full of donations already and they couldn’t accept more.
“My heart sank,” she said. “A soldier at the center encouraged us to go to Clyde, N.C., the next small town over, to the United Methodist Church. We were one of several people who waited in line with our donations. We were greeted with hugs and a lot of appreciation.”
Pendley and her husband, David, unloaded their truck and helped others unload their vehicles as well. She said the amount of donations brought to the church was heartwarming.
“They had just about everything needed to assist in the recovery efforts, but they needed more propane,” she said. “People are living in tents, and they need heat. Within minutes a truck pulled up to
donate, and it was filled with propane. God was orchestrating everything.”
Before the Pendleys left to head back to Alabama, they were able to witness a western North Carolinan pick up a cooking stove they donated.
“It was beautiful to see that our donation project at Gadsden State could help people in need,” Pendley said. “It was truly an amazing trip.”
Tina Pendley, left, recruited members of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society to help her collect donations on Gadsden State’s five campuses to donate to Hurricane Helene survivors in North Carolina. She is pictured with some of the items donated as well as with Melissa Davis, PTK advisor.
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