Tire dealers in North Carolina are reacting to the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, while helping their customers.
Black’s Tire Service Inc., which is based in Whiteville, N.C. is now in “Operation Make-A-Difference mode” for its locations, vendors and communities affected by the flooding and devastation of Hurricane Helene, according to Rick Benton, who directs BTS Tire & Wheel Distributors, the dealership’s wholesale business.
All Black’s Tire Service stores and BTS Tire and Wheel distribution centers are collecting items and donations for the counties in western North Carolina that have been affected by Hurrican Helene.
Black’s Tire is asking for bottled water, sports drinks, non-perishable foods, baby supplies, toiletries, batteries, pet food and other items.
All materials will be shipped to impacted communities from Black’s Tire headquarters.
Benton says his company always helps when devastating weather events happen, but has “never been hit this bad.”
According to Benton, a lot of the dealership’s retail stores and BTS locations were hit the worst on Sept. 27 by heavy winds and rains, but power has been restored to all locations.
“Our stores and our D/C’s are very, very fortunate but we have customers, vendor partners and just community members that were hit so hard,” he says.
“Our dealers are family to us and usually our motto is ‘Families Doing Business with Families’ Now, with the hurricane disaster, it’s ‘Families Helping Families.’”
Donated items can be shipped to the BTS Tire and Wheel central distribution address at: BTS Hurricane Relief; 30 Bitmore Rd.; Whiteville, N.C. 28472.
McCarthy Offers GoFundMe
Another dealership affected by the hurricane is McCarthy Tire Service Co. Inc., which is headquartered in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., but has four stores in the impacted area.
Four of those locations were affected, according to John McCarthy Jr., the dealership’s president.
The company’s Asheville, N.C., location got hit the worst. Locations in Hickory, N.C., Spartanburg, S.C., and Easley, S.C., were affected, as well, but not as badly, he says.
McCarthy says the Asheville location is doing OK, but its employees are struggling.
“We have a few (who are) living at our location because their homes were destroyed. We set up a GoFundMe page to try and help and are putting together trucks full of supplies to send down to the area this week.”
McCarthy Tire also has put the GoFundMe link on its social media sites. The campaign is intended to raise enough money to purchase a trailer full of supplies and deliver them to families affected by the storm.
An email was also sent out to all McCarthy Tire customers in the Asheville area recently:
“We are deeply saddened by the devastating impact Hurricane Helene has had on the community of Asheville, N.C. and the surrounding areas.
“Our hearts go out to all those affected by this natural disaster. We know that many of you are facing significant challenges and we want to assure you that our thoughts and prayers are with you. As a local business, we are committed to supporting our community during this difficult time.
“While our shop is open with limited resources, we are doing our best to help those in need. If you require any assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out to Asheville branch manager, Dennis Barry, at 980-721-9863.
We are grateful for the resilience and strength of the Asheville community and the affected neighboring communities. Together we will overcome this challenge.”
