Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers are wrapping up their work in Clearwater, South Carolina, today (Nov. 1) and preparing to join the cleanup effort in western North Carolina.

“We will shut down in Clearwater and bring most of our operation home,” said Mark Wakefield, state disaster relief strategist.

ABDR has had a command center set up in South Carolina since late September to help those affected by Hurricane Helene.

Chainsaw teams redirecting to North Carolina

Two chainsaw teams that were already preparing to deploy to Clearwater will head to Rutherford County, North Carolina, tomorrow (Nov. 2) instead.

“We have four or five chainsaw teams already queued up to go who will go help over the next few weeks in North Carolina,” Wakefield said.

He said that volunteers who were planning to work with the feeding unit in Clearwater may also have a place to go soon in North Carolina, Florida or Georgia, but that hasn’t been determined yet.

An ABDR shower unit that deployed to Forest City, North Carolina, several weeks ago is still in place there.

Future opportunities for rebuilding

Wakefield said as state disaster relief leaders look ahead, they’re also looking toward longterm work to help those affected by flooding. He said he thinks students from Alabama’s Baptist Campus Ministries may be able to help with rebuilding in North Carolina in the coming months or during spring break.

“We’re looking for ways to partner with our campus ministries — they’re eager to serve,” he said.

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This article was originally published at TheAlabamaBaptist.org.