A Flood of Hope

Recently, heavy rain and flooding ravaged Bluefield and the surrounding areas, compounding the already pressing effects of Hurricane Helene just a few months before. One of the areas most affected: McDowell County, West Virginia, which has suffered greatly.

McDowell ranks as one of the poorest and sickest areas in not only Appalachia but also America. Burdened already by poverty and drug addiction, the last thing McDowell needed was a natural disaster to further exacerbate an already struggling area.

Seeing the needs in the area in the aftermath of the floods, Bluefield University Student Ministries (BUSM) organized a donation collection to go out to McDowell and its residents. Project organizer and Bluefield University sophomore Amelia Garrett was placed in charge of receiving donations from fellow students.

The drive took donations such as clothes, cleaning supplies, and non-perishable foods to First Baptist Church in Bluefield, West Virginia, where an outpouring of generosity was evident, according to Moriah Mingo, BUSM member and volunteer worker for the project.

“There were a lot of other donations…it was a lot,” Mingo said, “and they had already taken out four truckloads worth of stuff.”

Mingo said she hopes the donations bless the people of McDowell as much as she was blessed by the experience of giving.

“When people say, ‘Giving makes you feel better,’ it really is true,” said Mingo, who added a story about how the generosity of a retail worker uplifted her.

“I was having a bad day,” Mingo recalled, “and then I went to Dollar Tree, and this woman working there donated $30 worth of stuff, and I was in a good mood for the next couple of days.”

One can only pray that this flood of hope reaches McDowell County and all flood-impacted areas.