SWANNANOA, N.C. — Around 1,000 instruments were given to musicians hit hard by Hurricane Helene at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa over the weekend.
WLOS in Asheville reports that WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour, an internationally syndicated TV and radio program, began collecting instruments for Helene victims earlier this year.
The instrument giveaway took place Sunday afternoon at Kittredge Arts Center on Warren Wilson’s campus, according to WLOS.
“We haven’t forgotten the situation of folks affected by Helene,” WLOS reports folksinger and WoodSongs host, Michael Johnathon, said.
According to WLOS, this is third instrument drive Johnathon has led. WoodSongs previously gave away instruments to tornado victims in western Kentucky and flood victims in Appalachia.
“Love is the greatest transaction of the arts,” Johnathon told WLOS.
“Helene victims have already been through so much,” Johnathon reportedly added, emphasizing WoodSongs wanted to make the instrument distribution as easy as possible. “There are no forms to fill out. Just show up.”
In other Helene recovery news, Channel 9′s Hannah Goetz recently met a therapy dog named Hope who’s being taught to provide support for crews at the Saluda Fire Department in South Carolina.
They lost two of their own while responding during Hurricane Helene, and Hope is part of a larger effort to get a therapy dog into every department that lost a first responder in the storm.
Hope is the first therapy dog acquired by the K-9 Responder Foundation, a new nonprofit dedicated to getting trained therapy dogs to first responders without the financial burden.
“We can come up with this foundation as a way to generate funds, remove those financial barriers, and get people the support that they need to live their best life,” said Rick Dunton, president of the K-9 Responder Foundation.
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