Burnsville, N.C. — Helene uprooted lives, homes and left many western North Carolina communities cut off. One former business owner saw a need for help and has stepped up to help her community once again.

One of the hardest hit areas was Burnsville in Yancey County.

What You Need To Know

  • The Riverbank General Store near the Cane River in Burnsville was destroyed during Helene
  • Chriss Adkins ran the store for six years
  • Adkins set up a relief center inside the old Bee Log Elementary School building

The storm devastated areas along Highway 19-W near the Cane River.

One of the many buildings that were destroyed was the Riverbank General Store.

“Everybody in this community has had a hard time with this store being gone,” Chrissy Adkins said.

Adkins used to run the store from 2003 to 2009.

“It’s the only store we had for eight miles,” Adkins said. “And that’s when I got to know this community, and all of the people that lived around here.”

Without the store, Adkins says peoples’ stability has faltered, like the roads and bridges surrounding them.

“Just to see all of this devastation, it just hurts,” Adkins said. “It makes you want to go home and hide… wait until it gets back to the way it’s supposed to be.”

Adkins wasn’t directly affected by the storm, but she knows many of her neighbors were not as lucky. She set up a relief center inside the old Bee Log Elementary School building.

“You can come in here, get a box, get a bag and a shopping cart,” Adkins said.

Adkins has compiled donations from across the country into a one-stop shop.

Everything they’ve gathered from canned fruits and vegetables to toiletries have all been neatly organized. Some of which are placed on shelves that were pulled from the mud at the old general store.

“Because of the store, everything’s got its place,” Adkins said.

There’s also another room that’s filled with a mountain of clothes. Adkins spends a lot of time sorting, folding and organizing shirts and pants that were given from people who just want to help.

“These people come from everywhere,” Adkins said. “And they give their heart and soul a lot of times to drive all of the way out here and bring this stuff.”

As a member of the community for 40 years, Adkins says she’s spent her life caring for others. So, it comes as no surprise when she says she has no plans to stop this relief operation soon.

“I like to help people,” Adkins said. “And I like to be there when they need something.”

As winter begins to settle in, Adkins says needs are changing for items like blankets, portable heaters and coats. She also worries any snowfall will block roads and give people a hard time leaving their homes to get food.

She plans to use her four-wheeler to deliver food and other essentials to her neighbors in need.