SNOOK, Texas (KRHD) — Local residents in Burleson County are raising money for Hurricane Helene victims and even trying to prepare the county for possible natural disasters.
- Hurricane Helene caused significant damage and power outages in states like North Carolina.
- Chris Rubach, a local bee farmer for Rubach Bee Farms, has raised $628 for Cajun Navy Relief, a Louisiana-based disaster response group and is considering fundraising again as more hurricanes form in the Atlantic Ocean.
- The Burleson County CERT team is also seeking donations to aid local disaster preparedness.
- You can donate to the team on the Brazos Valley Gives website or directly contact local fire departments in the county.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Chris Rubach has been a bee farmer for eight years, and he's now using his passion to do good.
"We [Rubach and his girlfriend] were just talking, you know, watching the news and just kind of seeing what's going on over there, and, you know, I'd like to go help," the owner of Rubach Bee Farms said.
He's selling honey to help victims of Hurricane Helene.
"But you know, but I'm always running behind with the bees it seems like — one-man operation — so I figured this would be the next best thing I could do," Rubach said.
Helene hit the Gulf Coast on Sept. 26 and moved inland, causing flooding and damage in several states.
"We had people that, you know — were almost in tears. We had people that were showing me their ID, they're from north Carolina," he said.
It's why the Burleson County Community Emergency Response Team Chairwoman Deanie Gold says having funding locally is important.
"The group is local. We work in our county, although there's other groups, Brazos County, Washington County, each have a CERT group as well, and we can come together to work in big disasters," Gold said.
"We can work with Red Cross when they call us in for additional help."
They're also raising money.
"We might be setting up evacuation centers, guiding traffic, if it gets crazy way back like it did with Katrina," she said.
"Things like that that we could help assist with the other first responders."
So far, Chris has raised about $628, going toward the Cajun Navy Relief — a Louisiana-based disaster response group.
"I have a lot of trust in them — I've seen what they've done throughout the years," Rubach said.
He's proud to have the community's support.
"There was a lot of support and I was just really, really blown away," he said.
