Since Hurricane Helene’s devastating appearance in Georgia last week, thousands of state residents are trying to pick up the pieces and mitigate its effects on their homes, incomes and supplies.

Throughout the metro Atlanta area, various businesses, churches and organizations have provided new opportunities to donate and give back to Peach State residents in need.

The Ameris Bank Amphitheatre will be collecting donations for Helene victims outside of their entrance gates from Oct. 4 to Oct. 6. Suggested items include non-perishable food and pop-top canned food, bottled water, diapers, hygiene products, flashlights, blankets and hand sanitizer.

Food Security for America are currently asking for financial donations that will go towards assisting low-income families within the Augusta area.

On their website, the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security has offered points of distribution for essential items to help victims throughout the state. Current locations are listed below.

The Georgia Red Cross is asking for online donations to Georgia residents in need, which will go towards helping the organization in managing shelters and providing essential resources.

“Across the Southeast, hundreds of people are still reported missing,” said a release on the Red Cross website. “Entire communities were destroyed by fast-moving water and tens of thousands of homes have been affected. People need shelter, water, food and health care.”

Kingswood United Methodist Church in Dunwoody is accepting donations for critical supplies to be sent Friday to the residents of McDuffie County, located within the central eastern border of the state. The initiative is in partnership with New Thomson United Methodist Church in Thomson, Georgia.

“Augusta’s smaller neighbor to the west, McDuffie County, is also hurting and receiving far less support than greater Augusta,” said Kingswood on the church’s website.

Critical items listed on the church’s website include water, peanut butter, bread, canned fruit, crackers, granola bars, trail mix, applesauce and Ensure. The supplies will delivered to New Thomson on Friday, Oct. 4.

Located in Avondale Estates, the  Little Tree Art Studios is collecting goods up until Oct. 4 for that will benefit disaster victims statewide.

Desired supplies include personal items such as baby formula, washboards and toilet paper, as well as clean up supplies such as brooms, safety goggles and trash bags.

Mission Georgia have set forth a fundraiser for Helene victims through their website.

“In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, your Georgia neighbors are in need of friends to help their churches and communities recover while sharing the hope of Christ,” said Mission’s website.

The organization is offering 100% of the donations that they receive to Mission Georgia, Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief and other partners.

Salvation Army locations statewide are accepting donations that will help benefit those affected by Helene in Georgia and other states where the hurricane struck.

“Your donation will fund immediate emergency assistance, food and water supplies, emotional and spiritual support, and long-term recovery services for survivors,” read a message on the organization’s website.

Serv International is currently working alongside selected churches and organizations in South Georgia affected by the natural disaster.

“Power in South Georgia has widespread outages, and many locations are not expected to have power for 10 days or more,” said the organization on their website. “Join us in donating to this situation.”

Monetary gifts will go towards “purchasing food and supplies for distribution.” Donations for shelf stable food items are available to be dropped off at Serv’s Canton offices.

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Fred Ridley, chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament, in partnership with the Community Foundation for the Central Savannah River Area, announced on Thursday a joint $5 million donation toward the Hurricane Helene Community Crisis Fund.

The fund will support local relief efforts in response to the devastating impact of the storm throughout the greater Augusta community.

HOW TO HELP:

• Online donations to the Hurricane Helene Community Crisis Fund can be made through the Community Foundation website: cfcsra.org.

The donation is intended to provide immediate access to essential services and resources available throughout greater Augusta.

“I was in Augusta in the days immediately after the storm and have seen firsthand its devastating impact,” said Ridley. “Our employees, neighbors, friends and business owners need, and deserve, immediate and meaningful assistance to overcome the hardships being experienced at this moment throughout Augusta.

“Augusta National and the Community Foundation each take to heart our obligation to care for our community. Our goal is to make a difference when it’s needed the most, and our hope is that our gift may inspire others to assist or ask how they may contribute to this critical mission.”

Additionally, Augusta National Golf Club, the Community Foundation for the CSRA and the Medical College of Georgia Foundation have made separate contributions to support the response and recovery efforts, led by the American Red Cross and other local community partners.

RESOURCES FOR YOU:

Among the efforts led by the American Red Cross are a mobile feeding truck and associated recovery center, which is being staged at the HUB for Community Innovation, located at 631 Chaffee Avenue. The mobile feeding truck circulates through streets in the vicinity of the HUB for Community Innovation, where services including meals, water, laundry, showers, counseling services and more are offered at no charge to residents.

The Salvation Army, First Step Staffing, Harrisburg Family Healthcare and other community groups are also supporting the efforts at the recovery center.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. — Vice President Harris took a pause from the campaign trail on Wednesday to visit a neighborhood ravaged by Hurricane Helene where more than half of residents don’t have power and many don’t have running water, consoling a woman who she said had lost her husband.

“There is real pain and trauma that has resulted because of this hurricane,” Harris said.

Meanwhile, President Biden spent about an hour flying over Asheville, N.C., by helicopter. “You can see homes that are moved, clearly, from one side of the river, down the river to another side,” he said. “Communities like Chimney Rock are reduced to piles of wood and debris.”

Vice President Harris speaks about damage caused by Hurricane Helene in Augusta, Ga., on Oct. 2.

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Biden and Harris are trying to reassure residents hurt by the massive storm that the federal government will help the region recover. Making good on that promise is a critical test for the administration in this election year, particularly in the swing states of North Carolina and Georgia, where Biden and Harris visited.

But Biden said it wasn’t about politics. “At a moment like this, we put politics aside — at least, we should put it all aside, and we have, here,” Biden said at a briefing at an emergency operations center in Raleigh, N.C.

“There are no Democrats, Republicans — only Americans — and our job is to help as many people as we can, as quickly as we can, and as thoroughly as we can,” he said.

President Biden talks with state officials at an emergency operations center in Raleigh, N.C., with a map of the area hit by Hurricane Helene behind him.

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Biden announced that the federal government would cover 100% of the costs of debris removal and emergency protective measures for six months for North Carolina, as requested by its Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.

He also directed up to 1,000 active-duty soldiers to be deployed to help the North Carolina National Guard deliver food, water and medicine.

In Georgia, Harris said the federal government would cover 100% of the costs of debris removal and emergency protective measures for three months for the state, as requested by its Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. Kemp was not with her for the tour.

President Biden surveyed storm damage on Marine One near Asheville, N.C. on Oct. 2.

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The White House also announced that Biden had authorized 100% of the costs of debris removal and emergency protective measures for three months for Florida — a state he plans to visit on Thursday.

Biden will also make a stop on Thursday in Georgia. That’s where former President Donald Trump was on Monday, where he, too, said that disasters transcend politics.

Former President Donald Trump visitsa furniture store damaged during Hurricane Helene in Valdosta, Ga., on Sept. 30.

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“As you know, our country is in the final weeks of a hard-fought national election. But in a time like this, when a crisis hits, when our fellow citizens cry out in need, none of that matters. We’re not talking about politics now. We have to all get together and get this solved,” Trump said.

But during his stop, Trump falsely said Gov. Kemp had not been able to reach Biden. “He’s been calling the president, hasn’t been able to get him. But they’ll come through, I’m sure,” Trump said. Biden later that day angrily criticized Trump.

“He’s lying, and the governor told him he was lying,” Biden said, noting he had spoken with Kemp. “I don’t know why he [Trump] does this. And the reason I get so angry about it — I don’t care about what he says about me, but I care what he communicates to the people that are in need. He implies that we’re not doing everything possible. We are,” Biden said.