ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
In Kentucky, Missouri and Virginia, communities are beginning to pick up the pieces and assess their needs after violent storms and tornadoes ripped through those states over the weekend, killing more than two dozen people. After a disaster, communities often receive tons of donated supplies to help with recovery. When Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina last fall, it took an army of volunteers to get those supplies to the people who needed them. As part of our series Here to Help, Blue Ridge Public Radio's Laura Hackett shares the story of one of those volunteers.
LAURA HACKETT, BYLINE: Seven months after the storm, there's still plenty of work to do in western North Carolina. It's one of the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Helene. Many people are still struggling here.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Thank you.
HACKETT: Clara Carrias is one volunteer who has risen to the challenge. When I stop by the headquarters of the nonprofit BeLoved Asheville, she's with a group of volunteers packing up bags of donated food.
CLARA CARRIAS: I love volunteer. I love help people. And always I'm trying to make time to, maybe two hours, three hours, helping them.
HACKETT: As a mother of three, a part-time cook at McDonald's and an immigrant studying English, to carve out a few hours a week to volunteer is no small feat. Sometimes, when she doesn't have babysitting available, she just brings her kids along.
CARRIAS: My oldest daughter, she's 11 years old. She said, oh, I like it. I want to make some bags for children. She love that.
HACKETT: As a native Spanish speaker from Mexico, Carrias brought supplies to Latino communities after the storm. It proved extra valuable when landslides and debris cut off entire neighborhoods.
CARRIAS: The first days, it was so hard - you know, trees over everywhere, a lot of damage everywhere. The roads sometimes are difficult to get homes, but always we try to go there.
HACKETT: She drove on treacherous mountain roads to bring people care packages of food, water, cleaning supplies and anything else they asked for. And she did it while she was dealing with her own storm damage at home.
CARRIAS: A tree fell over our house, and one bedroom was damaged.
HACKETT: Then a team of fellow volunteers rebuilt her house for free.
CARRIAS: When they done, we are so happy, you know?
HACKETT: It's a moment that's stuck with her. And it's this reason that she still volunteers to this day.
AMY CANTRELL: She's got the hearts and the brain.
HACKETT: That's Reverend Amy Cantrell, who helps run the nonprofit. She says Carrias is great at logistics.
CANTRELL: Many, many people, including Clara, who really suffered the worst of the storm started showing up here in the midst of all that devastation.
HACKETT: A wave of support, she says, grew quickly.
CANTRELL: And it was just incredibly inspiring, many of them joining in with the hundreds of volunteers that were coming here, both locally and from all over the country.
HACKETT: Volunteers made a big difference feeding people, rebuilding houses and cleaning up debris. And as western North Carolina continues to recover, Cantrell says volunteers are still needed.
For NPR News, I'm Laura Hackett in Asheville.
SHAPIRO: To tell us a story from your volunteer life or nominate someone else, visit npr.org and search Here to Help.
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