A familiar sight around the High Country and beyond in recent weeks as Samaritan’s Purse staff and volunteers pray with homeowners following Helene’s destruction. Photo courtesy of Samaritan’s Purse.
Samaritan’s Purse, “The Orange Army,” Prevails in the Pathway of Destruction STORY BY SHERRIE NORRIS
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amaritan’s Purse, the international disaster relief agency headquartered in Boone, is known for its rapid response to storms and the devastation they leave behind. Since Helene passed through the organization’s hometown in late September— leaving a wide pathway of destruction practically in its back door—Samaritan’s Purse staff and volunteers have been hard at work helping to pick up the pieces. The relief center at Alliance Bible Fellowship in Boone is just one of the agency’s six response sites that was immediately established to assist families in North Carolina and Florida who were devastated by the historic hurricane. Sites in nearby Burnsville and Asheville were also quickly organized, as were those in Valdosta, GA., Perry, FL., and Tampa, FL. Operations were also set up a short time later in Charlotte County, FL., along with the other two Florida sites, serving those who were impacted by Hurricane Milton. Representing Samaritan’s Purse, thousands of staff and volunteers were mobilized at the sites, arriving in their signature orange T-shirts, and affectionately referred to as “the orange army.” 38
HIGH COUNTRY MAGAZINE
December 2024
Shannon Daley, U.S. Disaster Relief Manager for Samaritan’s Purse, who has been leading the Boone-based response, spoke with us three weeks after Helene had left her mark in the North Carolina mountains. “I’ve been out on a lot of disaster relief missions all around the country, but this one (here) is one of the worst I have seen in a long time,” she said. The situation has been unique, she admitted, as ministry employees and volunteers in the Boone area, especially, were among those personally affected by the hurricane, and/or had relatives with significant damage. “It has been different, for sure,” Daley said. “Many of our staff members and their families were impacted—with power outages and flooded homes; they were dealing with their own disaster and recovery, while at the same time, trying to handle their work responsibilities and helping others in their community. Plus, roads leading into the headquarters were inaccessible, as well.” And “deployment” as it was, took on a different feel, this time, too.