News 4 story sparks generosity, leading to second hurricane relief trip
HYDRO, Okla (KFOR) — A family in Hydro is getting ready for a second trip to help those displaced from Hurricane Helene.
They took their first trip the day after Christmas, delivering four campers to Spruce Pine, North Carolina.
News 4 reported on this effort, and it gained traction from across the country.
Our coverage led to one Oklahoma viewer giving a generous donation.
"Got us a $25,000 donation from an anonymous person, which was able to buy these three campers and buy a pickup," said Tim Johnson, delivering campers.
Johnson and the rest of the crew are now making another trip to help more people in need.
"There's a staging area there where we drop the campers off, and then Nick from Wilmington Response, he checks every camper out, make sure the heater, the refrigerator, the stove, everything's working in it," said Johnson.
Once the camper is checked and good to go, it's then stocked up.
"With blankets, heaters, and stuff like that, which we've got some heaters, blankets, propane bottles, what have you in there already," said Johnson.
They're delivered to displaced families who have been sleeping in tents.
Johnson shared a story of one family they helped the first time.
"A mudslide came down, and a tree went down, and it split his house in half. He had to crawl out his bedroom window, go around the outside to the other side to get his baby out," said Johnson.
That family was given a fifth wheel camper.
"They're real, genuine people and they are so humble and thankful," said Johnson.
The $25,000 from a News 4 viewer is the reason they were able to buy more campers and help more families.
"I feel like when we got this donation, that was a godsend," said Johnson.
The story reached people beyond Oklahoma.
"One was in Georgia and I got them directly with Nick and they're going to donate some generators and stuff like that and then there was a lady in Mississippi, she had a FEMA trailer, which they're supposed to be coordinating or something to get that moved up there," said Johnson.
If you’d like to help out they encourage you to donate to Wilmington Response, which is where they are dropping off the campers.