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Two Suffolk organizations are taking part in helping those suffering from the impact of Hurricane Helene.

Nansemond Brewing Station as well as ARNE Aviation are working to provide relief to those impacted by Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina. Nansemond Brewing Company and MoMac Brewing Company General Manager Victoria Howell discussed how both breweries got involved, noting that after scrolling through social media, she wanted to help but was not sure how.

“… a couple of our customers down in the outer banks started a movement with Operation Airdrop. They are privately owned pilots, and so I reached out to them, asked if we can help by just setting up a donation stop and they said, ‘Absolutely, let’s go ahead [and] do it,’” Howell said. “And they supplied us with a list from Operation Airdrop of the necessary donation items that they were looking for. So on Saturday, we just kind of posted it. I was like, ‘Let me just get this out there.’ We put it on social media and the outpouring of donations has just been absolutely incredible.”

Howell says that their donations at MoMac have caused their U-Hauls to be completely full, plus two vehicles, without getting to Nansemond Brewing Station yet.

“It’s actually incredible. Birdsong Peanuts has been a huge contributor with their donations as well. They dropped off Monday and Tuesday, and they’re like, ‘We’re just going to keep moving,’” she reflected with a laugh.

Howell says that many donations are being brought into Concord, North Carolina, to help those affected by Hurricane Helene.

“So essentially, Operation Airdrop is leaving from Concord, and they’re using helicopters to take the supplies into towns where the roads are completely washed away and nobody can get there, just because it’s easier to kind of maneuver them in tight spaces,” she said. “So right now, all of our donations are headed down there, and they’re headed specifically to towns that aren’t able to be accessed by any other way.”

Owner of ARNE Aviation and Skydive Suffolk Laura Manthey shared their efforts as well. Manthey says ARNE Aviation was enlisted to attempt to drop a satellite phone to one of the North Carolina mountains that was without communication.

“But unfortunately, the weather was bad enough that we could not safely do that drop,” Manthey said.

Despite this, Manthey says they are currently in talks with different organizations to fly supplies in and are currently getting information on which airports are cleared and what most of the need is.

“…as a Part 135 cargo company, we are qualified to provide humanitarian relief and cargo supply services here in the United States as well as the Caribbean,” she says. “We have been working with a few different partner organizations to get something scheduled. The satellite phone drop is the only thing we’ve been able to attempt so far, but we are in process with a couple of different organizations. You know, everybody’s scrambling right now to ascertain what relief is needed and where it can go into.”

Along with their aircraft being cleared for HAZMAT carriage to carry fuel and ATVs, Manthey detailed that they have large aircraft capable of transporting “up to 7000” pounds of supplies per aircraft.

“However, that takes a slightly bigger airport,” Manthey said with a laugh. “So right now, we’re working to identify the different airports that are cleared, accessible, open and can support the size of our aircraft.”

She also notes how their aircraft can carry off-road vehicles as well to get them into an area off the ground.

“And then they can then, in turn, take supplies out into basically the wilderness or the areas that are unreachable otherwise,” Manthey detailed.

Howell says both breweries are accepting donations until Friday at 10 p.m. Accepted donations include chewable Benadryl, pre-mixed baby formula, bottles, hiking snacks (energy bars and nuts) as well as toothbrushes and toothpaste, cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer, diapers (children and adults), powdered sports drinks, new towels and more. Both expressed their hopes in assisting those suffering from the situation.

“Anytime you have a situation like this, it really boils down to just immediate physical needs,” Manthey said. “If we can transport first-aid supplies, water, food, communication as in a satellite phone, and just to make those people feel like they are being taken care of and their needs are being taken care of, then we will have done our job.”

Howell says they are inspired by all the donations that they have received for the effort.

“These people, it is just heartbreaking what’s actually happening, you know, we have friends and we have people and staff members who were down there when the storm hit. And, you know, the devastation that isn’t being talked about, right?” Howell said. “… These people in these towns, they need every little thing that we can give, you know, they appreciate it.”

For more information on Nansemond Brewing Company and ARNE Aviation go to facebook.com/nansemondbrewingstation and arneaviation.com. For information on Operation Airdrop, go to operation-airdrop.com.