HURRICANE HELENE dumped an astonishing 30 inches of rain on portions of Tennessee and Western North Carolina, triggering deadly landslides. Scenes unfolding across social media showed utter devastation. Entire chunks of Interstate 40 were missing, and so were dozens of homes, businesses, and people.
“I was scrolling through Facebook,” recalled Julie Graham. “I saw a horse owner from East Tennessee reaching out for help during the flood. I decided that we, as the Tennessee walking horse (TWH) industry, had to do something to help on an emergency basis. I didn’t know how much we could do, but the need was immediate. I made a phone call to a couple of trainers. I thought maybe we could take one to two horse trailers. I called my daughter, Aimee Campbell, and from there, it exploded.”
Graham has been involved in the TWH industry for over 25 years and is the host of the Walking for the Angels show, which provides Christmas gifts for hundreds of children in Bedford County.
Her daughter, Aimee, said, “Until my mom told me about the Facebook post, I had no idea how unfathomable the devastation really was, but when I saw there were children they were trying to feed who had lost their homes, well, as a mom, that broke me.”
As Shelbyville natives, Aimee and her mother had witnessed the community rally to help others in crisis before, but this was different. Those affected were strangers living hours away. Would the community help? They placed the first horse trailer at Edgemont Baptist Church on the corner of Fairfield Pike and Deery Street, and New Covenant Christian Bookstore on North Main Street.
“I can remember setting up that first trailer, thinking I could load one trailer by myself. I made a Facebook Live saying we were set up and asked everyone to bring donations. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen before,” Aimee recalled.
What happened next was also unfathomable. Like the dams that burst in the mountains following the Category 4 hurricane, what started as a steady trickle of donations erupted into more than they ever imagined. Bottled water, toilet paper, pet food, horse feed, clothing, nonperishable food, and hygiene supplies were being unloaded, sorted by a dozen volunteers and packed into the horse trailer.
When the last pair of red taillights exited the parking lots, they made an amazing discovery. The 50-foot horse trailers were packed so tightly their doors wouldn’t bolt.
“Shelbyville showed up in huge ways to help. It was an act of faith that we could do something, and God just handled the rest — from donations to volunteers to people offering to drive the trailers. It was remarkable how our community and the TWH industry responded to such a terrible event. We hoped to fill one or two trailers with supplies, but in the end, we left with 10 full trailers. The first bunch of supplies was dropped off at a school in Greenville. It was like a distribution hub. From there, people in that community were able to fill up their four-wheelers and go into disaster areas that we couldn’t get into,” Julie said.
“It was humbling to see the people lined up for help, but it was also devastating to see just how badly the supplies were needed. It’s one thing to say, ‘let’s help,’ but it’s another to see the faces of people who have lost absolutely everything,” Aimee recalled.
They partnered with Layne Leverette from Layne Leverette & Sons Stables and over a dozen other volunteers. Aimee said, “The day I got home from the first trip, I immediately began to plan another. I kept telling others, ‘You just can’t understand the devastation until you see it.’ I received a call from Layne because he wanted to go and feed people. I said, ‘Absolutely, but if we’re going back to feed people, let’s also take donations.’ I made another Facebook Live. For three days, we gathered donations and left with 16 to 17 vehicles. Some of those were 18-wheelers loaded down with supplies, some were people hauling heavy equipment, and others were trucks loaded with food.”
Volunteers distributed donations in Greenville, Black Mountain, and Asheville, North Carolina, and Erwin, Tennessee.
Aimee said, “I have never been through a natural disaster, so honestly, I couldn’t quite comprehend what devastation really looked like. This experience changed my perspective and has given me a true passion for helping others. It truly changed my life and who I am as a person. When God tells you to move, that’s exactly what [you] need to do. You can’t be worried about how it’s gonna happen, or what if this, or what if that. When God tells you to go, you go.”
The Bible verse Isaiah 6:8 has become Aimee’s motivation: “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here I am. Send me!’”
Her mother, Julie, said, “We’re all given opportunities to be a helping hand to others. Never let fear hold you back. Step out on that faith and watch it unfold.” GN
