On Friday, Sept. 27, junior Parker Gramling was woken up by his parents at 7:30 a.m. after his parents realized that the wind from Hurricane Helene was causing the rain to come in horizontally.

When he got out of bed, he saw a tree fall and hit his garage, crushing it to the ground, and completely separating it from his house.

He and his parents then went to their basement for temporary shelter until the storm had passed.

When he went upstairs, he and his family went outside to assess the damage. Eighteen trees had fallen.

Gramling said it was hard to see the damage.

“I wouldn’t say (I felt) hopeless, but it was definitely sad to see your house get hit,” he said. “It’s definitely not fun.”

Parker’s Mother, Career Development Facilitator Catherine Gramling, said the road to recovery for their home will be long.

“It will probably be months and months before it gets fixed,” she said.

The Gramling home was among the millions that suffered at least some devastation from Hurricane Helene — devastation that ranged from short power outages to the complete destruction of homes to death.

But Hurricane Helene’s story is not simply one of destruction. It’s one of people working together.

Parker said before the storm ended, his doorbell rang.

“I went and answered the door, and it was our pastor,” he said. “He was driving by and passed us, wondering if we needed any help.”

The Gramlings were grateful but knew there wasn’t much anyone could do.

Instead, they decided to help others.

“I was more worried about houses near us that had far worse damage,” Parker said.

Over the next week, more organizations were able to help. Spartanburg School District One, for example, provided hot meals and hot showers to members of the community.

Assistant Principal Carrie Forrest was one of the faculty members who served the community. Forrest said that helping was an extension of what the school does daily.

“That’s what we do every day,” she said. “We love on kids, we love on our community in that way, so of course we’re going to go out and love on the adults.”

Yearbook adviser Alex Hollis served meals at Mabry Middle School. Although he was inconvenienced by a power outage, he had minimal damage to his home and felt like it was appropriate to serve.

“I wanted to try to do what I could to help some people,” he said. “I don’t really feel like it was a lot, but it was going and giving a couple of hours of my time and just having the extra hands to help.”

Hollis said it was special to see so many people stepping up to help.

“I was proud to see students there and other people from the school district working,” he said. “I just think it sets the example that you’ve got to give back to the place where you live, especially in times of need.”

Local churches stepped up as well including Lake Bowen Baptist Church.

Senior Caden Stockman worked with the church to help cut down trees, trim bushes and clearing land.

“Me and a couple of buddies from my church drove a minibus and just went around helping people in the local area,” he said. “There (was) just a need in the community, and people are less fortunate than us and couldn’t pay for it or couldn’t get somebody out there.”

The damage from Helene is still evident in debris on the side of the road and homes that have yet to be repaired, but the community made quick strides thanks to the commitment of those who were willing to help.

“It’s a necessary part of life because you never know when you’re going to be the one who needs it or when it’s going to be you or your family that’s in that situation,” Forrest said. “We’re called to love one another, and I wholeheartedly believe we should do that every day.”

This story was originally published on The Prowl on October 30, 2024.