Rev. Franklin Graham, President and CEO of humanitarian aid organization Samaritan's Purse, told Newsmax on Friday that he was "grateful" to South Dakota GOP Gov. Kristi Noem for spearheading an aid effort to provide winter clothing to storm-ravaged residents in western North Carolina.
Graham and Noem joined "The Record With Greta Van Susteren" to talk about Friday's effort in Bat Cave, North Carolina.
"This whole community was just wiped out. Very few buildings were remaining. … The water just took everything away," Graham said. "So we were there helping the people of this area with winter clothing. This is one of the big needs is winter clothing."
"And to have Gov. Noem with us," he added, "it was very special that she cared enough to come all the way from South Dakota to be a part of this. And matter of fact, she's the one who set this up. She called me on Monday and said she wanted to do this. And could we do it? … We're so grateful to God for her. And she brought Don [Trump] Jr. and some others with her. It was a great day, Greta. And these people were encouraged."
Noem said she had a connection to donate winter clothing for North Carolinians who are still in the early stages of recovering from the hurricane that hit more than a month ago.
"[E]ver since Hurricane Helene hit North Carolina, the people of South Dakota have been saying, 'What can we do to help?' … And I was here in North Carolina a couple of weeks ago … and people kept telling us that these families would need winter clothing," Noem told Van Susteren. "It's going to get chilly up in the mountains, and it's going to get cold this winter, and that would be helpful.
"And the person on the ground to contact to make sure the right families get the help is obviously Franklin and Samaritan's Purse. They're just doing miraculous work here to meet the needs of people," Noem added. "And this all came together, Greta, in just four days. So that's what I think we can do better than the government can do, is immediately meet people's needs."
Graham estimated that Samaritan's Purse will be operating in North Carolina for roughly three years, adding that 1,000 houses will need to get rebuilt.
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Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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