MILFORD, Ohio — Father and son firefighters Charles and Brian Evans said they couldn't watch first responders in the Appalachians hammered by Hurricane Helene suffer without trying to help.
Brian, a professional firefighter in Union, Ky., said he regularly vacations in the region with his family and felt compelled to help, but training kept him from donating time in person.
Instead, he worked with his dad, a volunteer firefighter in Milford, to establish a fundraiser called United for Appalachia to help the crews down south rebuild.
"It doesn't matter if you're Milford Fire Department, Union Kentucky, North Carolina, wherever. You're all family, and you step up for each other, and you do what you can," Charles said.
Partnering with Little Miami Apparel a few hundred feet from the Milford Fire Department, Brian said each shirt sale through their fundraiser will fund donations to recovery efforts.
Cash donations are also accepted through the Milford Community Firefighters Club. The deadline for initial shirt sales is Oct. 23.
Meanwhile, charity juggernaut Matthew 25: Ministries announced Friday that, in addition to their Helene support, it would mobilize additional support for those impacted by the landfall of Hurricane Milton in Florida.
"This is a heartbreaking situation,” said Tim Mettey, CEO of Matthew 25: Ministries. “This is the third hurricane to hit Florida’s Gulf Coast area this year, causing additional damage to areas already trying to recover from Hurricane Helene, and impacting areas still recovering from Hurricane Michael in 2018."
The ministry issued a slate of new ways to help them, and that can be found by clicking here.
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