Morris Co. Teens Lend A Hand To North Carolina Hurricane Victims

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ — Teens from Morris and Essex counties recently volunteered their time for a noble cause — to assist North Carolina communities still rebuilding from Hurricane Helene.

Through The Empathy Equality Entrepreneurship Mission (TEEEM), five local teens headed to Asheville, North Carolina, last week to help rebuild communities that were decimated by last year’s hurricane.

Hurricane Helene made landfall on Sept. 26, 2024, in Florida, and made its way up the East Coast, leaving behind mass destruction. The hurricane triggered major flooding in several states, especially North Carolina, and resulted in more than 250 deaths.

More than 100,000 North Carolina homes were reportedly destroyed by the hurricane, which left more than $60 billion worth of damage in the state.

The five young ladies, hailing from Morris County School of Technology, Livingston High School, and Golda Och Academy, worked alongside All Hands and Hearts, a disaster relief organization.

Their project entailed rebuilding a flooded basement, measuring, cutting, and installing drywall while “carefully working around electrical boxes and plumbing.” The teens also learned trim work, priming, and painting while doing repairs on another Ashville home.

“This was a transformational experience not just for the students, but for all of us,” said Taylor D’Alessio, TEEEM’s Executive Vice President, who traveled with the group. “These young women chose to spend part of their summer making a difference for families they’d never met. That’s the kind of empathy in action that TEEEM stands for.”

TEEEM is a nonprofit organization that “empowers students to lead with empathy and create tangible impact.” This was the organization’s first domestic trip.

In the past, the organization has taken NJ students across the globe for humanitarian efforts, including a trip to Honduras to build a community center. TEEEM will be headed to Kenya later this summer, and to Latin America next year.