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Hurricane Helene Update
Community partners create swift response to Hurricane Helene relief
Dear friends,
We know the past week has been a tumultuous time for so many, and we extend our heartfelt support and compassion to everyone affected by Hurricane Helene. Faced with such adversity, we have seen the remarkable resilience of our community.
Even as our staff dealt with power outages, food insecurity, and transportation issues, they have shown unwavering dedication, working tirelessly to provide essential services to our communities in the past week.
In the Nicholtown community, we’ve held four pop-up food distributions, providing nonperishable/dry food and hot meals to around 200 neighbors without electricity for over eight days.
Several of the 220 homes in the New Washington Heights neighborhood did not have power until the week of Oct. 14. Our staff has worked in the neighborhood daily, clearing debris and providing about 100 hot meals and nonperishable/dry foods to those in need.
In Spartanburg, we’ve helped feed over 2,000 households in seven days through three pop-up events providing hot meals, dry/nonperishable food, and supplies.
Additionally, we’ve assisted in a major food distribution effort in Union County, working with local churches for residents whose homes are still without power on Spartanburg’s southside.
Countless community organizations, such as Meals on Wheels Greenville, Greenville First Baptist Church, Table 301, Palmetto Care & Share, Uptown Catering, Mt. Moriah Baptist Church, and the Spartanburg NAACP, have been instrumental in these efforts. Their support has been invaluable, providing timely hurricane relief to communities in need. We also commend the generosity of those who donated supplies, food, and money to our Immediate Needs Fundraiser.
The road to recovery for our communities is long as they continue to face the effects of more frequent and intense climate events like seasonal summer and winter storms, repeated downed power lines, offline transformers, and overburdened grid capacity. As we continue to advocate for our communities, we invite you to visit our Hurricane Helene resource webpage to stay up-to-date with our work. Please reach out if you have any additional resources we can uplift.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Michael D. Brown
Sustaining Way Executive Director
| Do you need assistance? Sustaining Way wants to know the needs of our neighbors to determine the best way to offer assistance for Hurricane Helen recovery in the coming weeks. Please click ‘Find Support’ below and complete the form by Nov. 5. Have questions? Email hello@sustainingway.com for additional information. |
| Don’t Let Them Face Winter Alone: Donate for Helene Recovery |
While Nicholtown and New Washington Heights have cleared many trees and debris from neighborhood streets, we recognize that recovery from Hurricane Helene is not a sprint, but a marathon.
We launched an immediate needs relief fundraiser on Sept. 30 to bring emergency supplies like shelf-stable foods, formula, diapers, and batteries to residents in our service areas.
We are so thankful for the more than $3,000 in donations that go directly to serving our neighbors.
As we move from the relief into the recovery phase of Hurricane Helene cleanup, we know our neighbors have needs such as restocking their pantries and refrigerators with nutritious foods and replanting their Backyard Garden beds. We also want to ensure that residents are prepared for cold-weather months by providing more Energy Home Visits.
Meeting these needs will require not only the time and dedication of Sustaining Way, but also donations.
Are you in the marathon with us in the coming weeks?
You can donate at SustainingWay.org/donate or donate via Venmo with @Sustaining-Way.
Thank you in advance for loving on our communities with your servant hearts!
| Program Updates |
Pickling Perfection:
Preservation workshop
saves summer’s okra bounty
Nicholtown residents joined Caroline Smith in September for a workshop on preserving the giant okra grown in the Annie’s House garden this summer.
We are grateful for everyone who attended and we owe a special thank you to Food Security and Agriculture AmeriCorps VISTA Chazmier Tyler for organizing continuing education events for our neighbors.
Would you like to see more continuing education workshops? Email Chazmier.Tyler@sustainingway.com with your interests!
| Hurricane Helene cleanup underway in community gardens |
While Hurricane Helene presented challenges to our Sustaining Way community gardens, our resilience shone through. The flooding from the Reedy River near Annie’s House garden impacted our beehives, pollinator garden, and mushroom inoculation logs, but our community is already working tirelessly to restore these vital parts of our ecosystem.
Thankfully, the cleanup along the New Washington Heights garden on Pear Street was minimal, which allowed our staff and volunteers to install a much-needed shed to store supplies at the site.
As we continue our cleanup at Annie’s House, we invite you to join us for three weekly garden days. Hours include:
- Tuesday, 3-5 p.m.
- Wednesday, 4-5:30 p.m.
- Friday 9-11 a.m.
These are excellent opportunities to get all your gardening, composting, and sustainability questions answered by our amazing staff. Anyone can also donate cardboard and food scraps for compost at Annie’s House during our garden work day hours!
We hold monthly service days on the third Saturday of each month from 10 a.m.-noon.
We also host groups of over 100 people. Interested in volunteering with us? Click the ‘I want to volunteer!’ link below for more information.
| Register for our other programs |
| Staff Updates |
Oscar Bennett recognized among
Greenville’s Best & Brightest
Our very own Oscar Bennett has been recognized as one of Greenville’s Best and Brightest under 35!As a Community Engagement Specialist at Sustaining Way, Oscar’s work is driven by a strong family legacy of helping others, shaped by his great-grandmother, Bernice Fleming.His daily mission involves supporting individuals facing hardships through food distribution events or finding ways to reduce energy bills. Amidst the challenges following Hurricane Helene, Oscar and the Sustaining Way team are dedicated to providing stability and support to the Nicholtown and other communities in the Upstate.
Congratulations, Oscar, on this well-deserved recognition for your impactful work!
Three new VISTAs join
Sustaining Way team
Abbi Burgess is the Sustainable Education VISTA. She graduated from Clemson University with a degree in Environmental Science and Natural Resources, with a concentration in conservation biology and a minor in sustainability. In her spare time, Abbi loves all things music and going to Issaqueena Falls and Stump House Tunnel in Walhalla.
Erin Smith is the Community Engagement and Expansion VISTA. Her focus is to create, maintain, and foster new relationships with community members in Nicholtown and the areas we serve. Erin holds a bachelor’s degree in social entrepreneurship from Georgia State University, and she is an interfaith minister. Erin enjoys spending time with family and friends and cultivating her farm in Georgia.
Jenna Seigworth is the Community Health and Engagement AmeriCorps VISTA at Sustaining Way. She attended Penn State University’s Behrend College and graduated with a major in English. She is ecstatic to work with Sustaining Way, as many of her values align with the organization’s mission. Jenna loves supporting co-ops and refill stores and is excited to explore Greenville.
Welcome our newest
Sustainable Agriculture intern
Walker Reid is our fall Sustainable Agriculture intern. He went to high school in Anderson and Pickens counties and completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees at Clemson University in Plant and Environmental Sciences, focusing on agronomy and agriculture education. He is excited to learn more about community outreach, to change people’s lives and to create hands-on learning environments. When he is not working, he enjoys crocheting and spending time with his loved ones.
| Stay in the know! |
Keep up with Sustaining Way’s latest news at SustainingWay.org/news.
Click to view our Spring 2024 and Summer 2024 newsletters, as well as the latest Hurricane Helene resources and updates.
Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Click here to join our mailing list!
| Upcoming Events |
Nicholtown Neighborhood Association meeting
Oct. 24, 6:30 p.m.
Where: Nicholtown Missionary Baptist Church, 327 Ackley Rd.
Saturday food distribution
Oct. 26, 10 a.m.- until
Where: Behind old Big Tanner’s Orange parking lot
Plant dyeing workshop
Oct. 26, Noon to 2:30 p.m.
Where: 60 Baxter St.
Register here
Village Wrench free bicycle repair
Nov. 2, 10 a.m. to noon
Where: Hope Church parking lot, 114 Rebecca St.
Early voting
Oct. 21-Nov. 2
Where: View early voting precincts here
Check your voter registration here
Election Day
Nov. 5, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Where: View your local precinct here
Check your voter registration here
Become a Sustainer of Sustaining Way! Any monthly donation, whether $5 or $500, provides essential support for our life-changing programs, and provides us with consistent income so we can better focus our efforts on our mission. These monthly donations make a huge difference to us. Donors receive benefits like a produce card to use at our garden, reusable and sustainable goodies, or even a free Energy Home Visit!
We appreciate donations of any amount, and similar to monthly Sustainer donations, your contribution helps to back our programs and initiatives, and ultimately our mission to use education, collaboration and advocacy to create sustainable, caring, and equitable communities for current and future generations.
Visit this page for quick access to important links, or check out our website for more information.