God’s Pit Crew still helping Hurricane Helene victims one year later

DANVILLE, Va. (WDBJ) - It has been one year since Hurricane Helene caused major flooding in parts of our hometowns and even a tornado.

Volunteers with Danville nonprofit God’s Pit Crew immediately began helping people recover and are still helping today.

“It’s not something that we’re typically used to seeing, such widespread destruction,” said Brandon Knuckles, God’s Pit Crew Chief Operating Officer.

Danville native Brandon Knuckles has been with God’s Pit Crew for about seven years.

He says while they were shocked by the impacts of Hurricane Helene locally, God’s Pit Crew was prepared.

“We never expected Hurricane Helene to do what it did in western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and even here in Virginia. We’re normally used to responding near the coast, but this was definitely different for us. So, when we saw the devastation, we knew we had to act,” added Knuckles.

God’s Pit Crew volunteers immediately deployed to Dry Fork after a tornado touched down there. They helped remove fallen trees and clean up yards.

They also provided two brand-new, fully furnished homes to families who lost their homes to the floods in Galax and Ivanhoe.

“Every community we go into is just so appreciative. We hate to show up to a community that is in need, but when we’re regional and we’re local and people know who we are, they’re excited to see our trucks roll in. They’re excited to see the red shirts ready to cut trees, remove debris, and be able to help them,” explained Knuckles.

Between Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, God’s Pit Crew provided 30 new homes, helped 900 families, and served over 200,000 volunteer hours – numbers the organization had never seen before Helene.

A year later, they’re still helping people recover from Helene.

They are currently in the process of giving 10 more homes to people who were displaced. They hope to increase that number to 20 in the next 8 months.

“Families that were in their homes when the floodwaters came had to ride down rivers on mattresses. Those are individuals who are still out there, hundreds and thousands who need people like us to step up and go out and make a difference,” said Knuckles.

More information on how to volunteer or donate can be found at godspitcrew.org.