Hurricane Helene Relief for North Carolina

Update on Hurricane Helene Relief:

On behalf of VP Charity and NJ Freemasonry, we would like to thank all of you for your generous donations and support for our Hurricane Helene Relief efforts.  Your contributions will help support those most affected by the disaster in North Carolina.  We are working directly with North Carolina Masonic Foundation to get the money directly into their relief fund specifically dedicated to Hurricane Helene Relief.  With your help, we were able to raise and donate well needed supplies along with a monetary donation of $12,460 to the North Carolina Masonic Foundation’s Hurricane Helene Relief Fund, which I’m told will be matched on their end.

We also received several physical donations of clothing, food, water, tarps, cleaning supplies and much more.  These, along with other items we personally purchased, were loaded up and delivered by some of our own dedicated Brother’s here in NJ to Taylorsville Lodge in Mountain City, Tennessee, which was another heavily affected area by the Hurricane on the border with NC.  These supplies will be distributed directly by the Brothers of Taylorsville Lodge to Mountain City and Johnson City residents to help the people in their local communities.

Along with all the Brother’s, friends, and family that donated and made this fundraising drive a true success, I would like to thank a few people who really made this happen in the background.  RW Robert Bolcar, Bro Alejandro Dieguez, and Bro Randy Astor who used their own, or acquired transportation and loaded and drove the supplies directly into one of the hard-hit areas.  They met directly with the Brother’s of Taylorsville Lodge and made the handoff personally.  These 3 brothers who took the journey down into the unknown truly exemplified what Freemasonry is all about.  WM Eric Rebels of St. John’s #1 who helped coordinate and make all this happen.  WB Eric Chambers of Burlington Lodge who went above and beyond to make this a priority and get us needed funds and donations.  Bro Mike Carollo, who helped out every step of the way and handled all the shopping and loading with us.  RW Joel Finnerty for helping out and being a part of the team.  WB Ray Reburn of Taylorsville Lodge in Tennessee who provided us needed intel before and during our trip down south and was in constant communication with our brothers in transit.  Our MW Grand Secretary Roger Quintana, who got the word out to the brethren that made this endeavor a success.  Finally, MW Grand Master Len Vander Horn for his faith and support in us to get the job done.

From the bottom of our hearts, Thank You and God Bless.

Dave Van Pelt  – VP Charity