Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 storm on the Gulf Coast of Florida on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. After making landfall, Helene continued as a tropical storm impacting areas across the South including portions of East Tennessee, Western North Carolina, and Southwest Virginia. Of those, multiple have declared a State of Emergency.

While the current mission at hand is Search and Rescue, those efforts will eventually shift to recovery and long-term assistance.

It is a best practice to be sure that Impacted counties are ready to receive material donations or volunteers and only fill requests that are specifically made through state and local authorities. Do not self-deploy; it hinders life safety operations in impacted counties.

As Volunteers, we recognize the call to serve those recently impacted by Hurricane Helene. Communities are dealing with the loss of loved ones, displacement from their homes, damaged businesses and infrastructure, transportation hardships, and a lack of basic necessities. As Volunteers, we are known for lending a helping hand or offering assistance to those in need, and these communities will need your support, we want to provide it in ways that meet their needs.

Looking to Help

To make the most of your contributions, it’s important to follow guidelines for donating and volunteering responsibly. The tried and true best practices identified by FEMA will give you a starting point.

Monetary Donations: Financial contributions to recognized disaster relief organizations are the fastest, most flexible and most effective method of donating. Organizations on the ground know what items and quantities are needed, often buy in bulk with discounts and, if possible, purchase through businesses local to the disaster, which supports economic recovery.

The East Tennessee Foundation has set up a fund for monetary donations that will go directly to the impacted counties in East Tennessee. https://easttennesseefoundation.org

Some members of UT community have been affected by the recent hurricane and flooding.  To help support members of our Volunteer family, consider donating to the Basic Needs Emergency Fund or the Big Orange Pantry.  For more information about requesting these services, visit the Dean of Student Basic Needs webpage.

Other donation options are the Red Cross: https://www.redcross.org/donate/dr/hurricane-helene.html/  and United Way: https://support.unitedway.org/page/Helene

TEMA maintains a Hurricane Helene information site that has up to date information and other donation option information.

Connect to Volunteer: Trusted organizations operating in the affected area know where volunteers are needed. Depending on the disaster and the current phase it is in, volunteers can be extremely helpful to ensure survivors can return to their new normal. By working with an established non-profit organization, the appropriate safety, training and skills can be considered. Recovery lasts a lot longer than media attention. Your help often is needed long after a disaster.

Consider volunteering through the Jones Center for Leadership and Service.  There is a list of ways to contribute through the ServeUTK website.

Looking for Help

Missing Persons Hotline:

• The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) has established a hotline for reporting missing persons in communities affected by the flooding.

• Call: 1-800-TBI-FIND. Information will be forwarded to local law enforcement for follow-up.

Sheltering Locations:

• Local jurisdictions and the American Red Cross have opened storm shelters and overnight shelters in impacted areas. For the most up to date shelter locations, visit TEMA’s website.
• Many roadways have been impacted by flooding. Before going out, visit TDOT’s SmartWay website.

Crisis Clean up Hotline:  If you need help cleaning up damage from Hurricane Helene, call (844) 965-1386 to ask for help.

Students impacted:

Students who need assistance can contact the Dean of Students Office at 865-974-3179 or dos@utk.edu.

Faculty & Staff impacted:

Employees who need assistance can contact HR at 865-974-6642 or hr@utk.edu.