KARE volunteers are coming to Kinston
Ninety-two visiting volunteers will be in Kinston by the end of August to help KARE (Kinston Area Recovery Effort) make repairs to homes damaged by last fall’s Hurricane Florence. The first group is coming from Kentucky and the second group will be arriving from Pennsylvania.
The volunteers will be coming back to help repair the damage from Hurricane Florence of a mobile home on Roanoke Avenue.
“Beginning this Sunday, we will be hosting new waves of Good Samaritan volunteers to help us repair homes which suffered substantial damages from Hurricane Florence,” Adrian King, the executive director of KARE, said. “A group of 11 good souls arrive Sunday afternoon from Fort Thomas, Ky. They will spend the week at a residence on Roanoke Avenue in the county.”
KARE offers services for their clients that include construction and repairs. Proposals are brought before a client selection committee that meet once a month and decide on which proposals KARE will be able to assist with.
Each volunteer since 2017 leaves Kinston at the end of their stay and returns home with an official certificate of appreciation issued as a thank you by the Lenoir long-term recovery organization.
“The free help and the generous donations we received by an outpouring of concern have been remarkable,” Rev. Hank Jarman, chairman of KARE, said. “Our neighbors greatly appreciated the help but we at KARE also appreciated the aid.”
The recent Easter season was seen by many as a season of thanksgiving, and, “We want the community, our volunteers and our donors know of our deep gratitude,” he added.
According to the press release from May 29, KARE — created in March 2017 by the Lenoir Association of Congregations — has received a total of $436,997.14 from all sources through April with another $91,616 pledged to be available from the N.C. Emergency Management by the end of 2020.
The ability to help was grounded on a United Way Unmet Needs campaign from October 2016 through March 2017, which netted a total of $312,175.77. A sum of $41,186.28 was transferred to the long-term recovery group from the Unmet Needs campaign receipts when KARE came into existence.
KARE is able to help, at no charge, victims by purchasing the materials needed for repairs and replacement of damaged housewares. It is made possible by contributions by civic-minded individuals, local and area church congregations, civic and nonprofit organizations, corporations and foundations, national and international wings of United Way and the state of North Carolina. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was often a partner.
King said KARE will be planning a community-wide, community-based hurricane preparedness seminar. The seminar will serve as a reminder to all that a prepared community is likely to suffer less than when it is unprepared.
KARE will be inviting groups such as Lenoir Emergency Management, N.C. Emergency Management, Red Cross, Salvation Army, Greene Lamp, area churches who often are the first on the scene immediately after a storm and other organizations active in relief work.
