She peered through a busted window into the church basement and saw that floodwaters from Hurricane Helene had left a muddy mess. The Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift items that First Baptist Church of Damascus, Virginia, had collected during the year were now wet and filthy. Jaz, age 11, saw something that gave her hope—a…
Franklin Graham
Newsletter October 2024
Franklin Graham Update | October Franklin Graham Update | October Helping Helene Victims, Ready to Respond in Florida Dear Friend, Hurricane Helene will go down in history as one of the deadliest storms ever to hit the United States mainland. Two weeks later, Hurricane Milton reached Category 5. As I write this, Milton is threatening the West Coast of Florida—already battered by Helene—and…
Health & Medical Ministries
Meeting Needs in a Medical Desert
For about two years now, Debbie King, a great-grandmother, hasn’t been able to get the right glasses to correct her declining eyesight. The Marshall, North Carolina, resident has been using her uncle’s glasses, and her vision has only gotten worse. Last week, though, she was amazed by how well she could see with the right…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Water Filtration Systems Deployed to the Asheville Area
Samaritan’s Purse is once again expanding relief efforts in western North Carolina with the deployment of community water filtration systems to the town of Swannanoa and other hard-hit areas. Designed by a Samaritan’s Purse team of engineers, each water system can provide up to 50,000 liters of clean water daily—enough for 10,000 people. These units…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Finding Joy in Jesus After the Storm
Winds roared through Scott’s quiet neighborhood in the heart of Valdosta, Georgia, as Hurricane Helene pushed north past Florida and into the Peach State. In the dark night sky, the towering pines overhead crashed down onto his house, bursting through the ceiling as he and his wife, Terri, huddled in the bathroom. “If you look…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Donald Trump Jr. and Senator Ted Budd See Samaritan’s Purse Relief Efforts
Samaritan’s Purse COO Edward Graham was joined by Donald Trump Jr. and U.S. Senator Ted Budd on Monday, Oct. 14, as they witnessed the devastation Hurricane Helene brought to North Carolina. They were flown by helicopter to Yancey County, which is included among the areas receiving emergency relief from Samaritan’s Purse. We continue to bring…
Crisis & Disaster Response
An Orange Wave of Help Arrives for Swannanoa
Steve struggled to keep his pickup truck driving straight on a road he couldn’t see. When the evacuation alert had sounded just minutes earlier, he had woken his 15-year-old son Aiden, and the pair had dashed out of their house. Now they were fighting to find safety as the flooding caused by Hurricane Helene swallowed…
Crisis & Disaster Response
President Donald Trump and Franklin Graham Meet Hurricane Survivors in North Carolina
Only days after his inauguration as the 47th president of the United States, President Donald Trump accompanied Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham on Friday to Buncombe County, North Carolina, to see our ongoing Hurricane Helene relief efforts. President Trump and Graham visited homeowners in the hard-hit area, assessing needs and sharing words of encouragement as…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Volunteers Help Lift Heavy Burden for Hurricane-Hit Couple
Justin and Amy Parlier had been awake nearly the entire night because of the rain and storms from Hurricane Helene that hit the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. They tried to get some sleep early Friday morning but received a call from Amy’s son that a tree had fallen and destroyed one of their…
