AVON, Ohio — Avon resident and business owner Aloys Nagel is gearing up for a second trip to western North Carolina to deliver donations to help people impacted by Hurricane Helene.
Last week, he was in Asheville, North Carolina and other nearby cities delivering items, including generators, clothing, diapers, food, baby formula and tools.
"I said, 'Man, how can I help these people?' I said, 'Man, I'm retired. I got all the time in the world,'" Nagel said. "I reached out to the community, and in one day, my trailer was completely full to the ceiling."
On that first trip, Nagel connected with churches that are now set up as distribution centers. He said seeing a small portion of the destruction and needs that remain spurred the idea to launch another donation drive.
The retired electrician, who still owns AJ Nagel Electric, plans to leave on Wednesday.
He has a tent and trailer outside his home at 3581 Stoney Ridge Road, where people have been dropping off supplies and monetary donations.
Nagel posted on Facebook that items most needed right now include women's hygiene products, baby formula, adult diapers and depends, extension cords for generators, bulk small propane bottles, small bottle heaters, full-size propane tanks, tarps, ropes, inflatable mattresses, sleeping bags, wool socks, and space heaters.
"I got a bunch of cots back there, and people are dropping off air mattresses and a lot of tarps," Nagel said. "Air mattress because people that have houses that aren't destroyed are letting other people's families move into their houses, and they're sleeping on the floors. And they need walkers for the elderly. A lot of baby formula and female items."
"You were telling me you're a construction guy, pretty tough guy. But this is emotional?" I asked Nagel.
"Oh yeah, it is. If anybody seen it in person they would have emotional feelings too," Nagel said. "So, I wanted to do it again."
Nicole Smigel is another helping hand in the operation. She's a member of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Avon and has children who attend Holy Trinity School.
"When we saw that the temperatures were about to start dropping and it was going to get so cold I'm like, 'What can we do?'" Smigel said.
The church and school launched a coat drive for hurricane survivors that quickly produced quick results.
"We had over 250 coats. We raised close to $1,000," Smigel said.
All the coats went with Nagle last week and freed up money allocated for shipping, which allowed for the purchase of more than 500 pairs of socks to be donated.
Smigel said the generosity from the church, school and greater community teaches a valuable lesson, especially for children, including her own.
"You can make a difference. This was me being able to show them that one person can," Smigel said.
Nagel said he's thankful for his community showing up to help another.
