Here to Help: WRAL crews make deliveries to New Bern, Lumberton today

Donations gathered during the WRAL Here to Help Hurricane Relief drive were delivered to New Bern, Lumberton and Newport on Tuesday.

Starting at 7:30 a.m., trucks were loaded at the two donation sites -- the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina and Carter Finley Stadium.

From there, one truck headed for Peletah Ministries. The ministry is located near two communities in New Bern that were significantly hit by Hurricane Florence -- the Historic Ghent Neighborhood and the low-income Trent Court Housing Community.

The donations in the truck were able to serve 425 people.

Another truck of supplies for affected residents in Carteret and Pamlico counties will arrive in Newport Tuesday afternoon.

Avery Mann took a day off of school to help unload the buses in Newport.

"It just means so much to see that I am actually making a difference and that I can help other people who are going through such a terrible event literally right now," Mann said.

Finally, a third truck will arrive at the Hurricane Florence Distribution Center on Velcord Drive in Lumberton.

Ralph Jones, a Bahama resident, rode the bus from Durham to Lumberton.

"It could be me. It's a good humanitarian effort. Something to do for others that happen to be less fortunate than me," he said.

Jones described the experience as "rewarding."

"You can't put a price on generosity and comraderies like this," he said.

Now, the United Way will work to distribute the supplies to the community sometime next week.

"We should be able to next week sit down with clients, do an intake process, and provide case management for them. We will help them from the beginning through the entire recovery process," said Joanne Brach, with the United Way of Robeson County.

Volunteers with the United Way in Wilmington are anticipating some additional road flooding and feel like they are in a better spot to receive items next week. More supplies will be collected this weekend at the N.C. State game, and a delivery will be made to Wilmington next week.

WRAL partnered with GoTriangle, United Way of the Greater Triangle, and the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina last week to raise more than $750,000 and collect 130,000 pounds of food and personal care items for victims of Florence.